IACHR
Press Release
IACHR and its SRESCER Deeply Concerned about the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Venezuela, Call for Safeguards for the Rights of Venezuelans around the Americas
March 29, 2020
Washington, D.C. - The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
(IACHR) and its Special Rapporteurship on Economic, Social,
Cultural, and Environmental Rights (SRESCER) acknowledge—in the
context of the recently launched Rapid and Integrated Response
Coordination Unit (RIRCU) on COVID-19—the complex situation faced by
States and societies around the world due to the exceptional
measures taken in response to the pandemic caused by the coronavirus
COVID-19. This virus is spreading exponentially and, by March 26,
had already claimed at least 21,031 lives around the globe, 1,330 of
these in the Americas. The COVID-19 pandemic poses extraordinary
challenges for healthcare systems, for people’s everyday lives, and
even for the enforcement of human rights. In this context, the IACHR
and its SRESCER are deeply concerned about the impact of the
pandemic on extremely vulnerable Venezuelans, given the profound,
drawn-out crisis in their country.
The COVID-19 pandemic demands a responsible, supportive attitude from all
States, national and international institutions, and citizens. The
Commission and its SRESCER have observed that the serious human rights
situation that Venezuelans have endured in recent years has deepened, due to
a humanitarian crisis that has led close to 5 million Venezuelans to leave
their country in the Americas’ worst displacement crisis. In such a complex
scenario, Venezuelan authorities have the obligation to take serious,
comprehensive action to address and contain COVID-19. Host countries must
step up their efforts to protect individuals’ right to health and to
mitigate the effects of a potential mass spread of the virus.
By constantly monitoring the situation of human rights and taking into
consideration the conclusions of a recent in loco visit to the Colombian
border with Venezuela, the IACHR and its SRESCER have seen that Venezuela is
going through an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. This crisis has deeply
affected the enjoyment of human rights—particularly economic, social,
cultural, and environmental rights (ESCER)—for a major portion of the
country’s population, especially groups who are vulnerable, suffer
discrimination, or have historically been excluded. In this context, the
Commission and its SRESCER stress that all human rights are interdependent
and indivisible and that their effects are intersectional, something that is
particularly clear in the Venezuelan case.
Concerning conditions for adequate healthcare, the IACHR and its SRESCER
have repeatedly warned of the gradual deterioration of Venezuela’s hospital
network. The country’s medical facilities generally have inadequate
infrastructure and face shortages of both basic supplies and qualified
medical staff. Many of Venezuela’s healthcare facilities lack permanent
access to drinking water, electricity, hygiene and prophylactic supplies,
surgical instruments, laboratories who can check blood transfusions,
equipment to sterilize various instruments, vaccines for basic immunization,
operational elevators, and contrast material for diagnostic procedures. This
is compounded by an atmosphere of persecution and harassment targeting
healthcare professionals and anyone protesting over the lack of equipment
and supplies to provide quality care to individuals who are ill. In
particular, the Commission and its SRESCER have been informed of the
critical situation at José Manuel de los Ríos Hospital, the country’s
largest pediatric facility, and at the Concepción Palacios Maternity
Hospital, one of Venezuela’s main centers for obstetric care. Both hospitals
are beneficiaries of precautionary measures granted by the IACHR, but the
State has so far failed to comply with these precautionary measures.
Venezuelans’ situation is made worse by the lack of sufficient quantities
of food of appropriate quality, by low wages, and by hyperinflation, as well
as by frequent widespread cuts in public services including the supply of
drinking water, natural gas, and electricity. The mix of all these factors
in the context of a pandemic implies that individuals are unable to take
essential measures for prophylaxis and prevention—including frequent hand
washing with soap and water and isolation within homes—which in turn
increases the risk of coming into contact with the virus and becoming
infected with it.
In this scenario, the Commission and its SRESCER emphatically call on
Venezuelan authorities to take action aimed at protecting the right to
health of all people, without discrimination and with a differentiated
approach to prioritize the welfare of older adults and other groups who are
particularly at risk with COVID-19, with a perspective that ensures gender
equality. Truthful, transparent data is essential in this context, without
unwarranted restrictions of access to information concerning the pandemic
and any containment measures. Further, the Commission and its SRESCER
emphatically warn that persecution and harassment targeting healthcare
professionals who complain about the lack of equipment and about a
mismanagement of this crisis not only is incompatible with the State’s goal
of managing the healthcare crisis, but also manifestly runs counter to
States’ international obligations concerning human rights.
The IACHR was informed—through its Special Rapporteurship for Freedom of
Expression—that journalist Darvinson Rojas had been arrested (along with his
parents) by the Special Action Forces on March 21, without an arrest
warrant, allegedly to be tested for COVID-19. Earlier, Rojas had posted on
Twitter statistics for COVID-19 in the state of Miranda. The Commission and
its Special Rapporteurship for Freedom of Expression stress that the media
play a crucial role in the context of the pandemic, by spreading vital
information and monitoring State action, and that journalists must not be
arrested or prosecuted for reporting or for questioning official data.
Further, the IACHR and its SRESCER note the measures taken by Venezuelan
authorities, which—according to a public statement issued on March
22—include suspending rent payments for real estate for six months,
suspending interest payments for some loans (including banks’ full
commercial-loan portfolios), and banning for six months any cuts in the
supply of telecommunications and other public services. The IACHR and its
SRESCER call on the State to ensure that these and any other economic and
social measures that may be adopted are implemented fairly and reflect
international human rights standards, as well as considering the different
contexts and needs of Venezuelan citizens. These measures must not be used
as mechanisms for coercion or discrimination along political or any other
lines, the Commission and its SRESCER noted.
The IACHR and its SRESCER highlight the statement issued on March 24 by
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, asking
that the sectoral sanctions on countries facing the COVID-19 pandemic be
urgently reassessed to consider their potentially negative impact on
healthcare and human rights.
Situation of Venezuelan forced migrants around the Americas
In press release
60/20, the Commission already addressed the complex nature of the
current global epidemiological emergency and the need for States’ responses
to reflect the highest standards to ensure the comprehensive protection of
human rights. In this context, the IACHR stresses—along with its special
rapporteurships—that Venezuelan forced migration highlights the need for
coordinated action, international cooperation, and an exchange of
information and best practices, to ensure that any action taken takes into
consideration the integrated nature of human rights.
More generally, the Commission stresses that the COVID-19 pandemic must
not be used as an excuse for States to escape their obligations based on
domestic and international law concerning people who need special
protection. The IACHR therefore observes with great concern the
disproportionate impact on Venezuelan migrants, refugees, and other
individuals who require international protection of measures aimed at
containing COVID-19 in the main host and transit countries around the
Americas. The Commission acknowledges the need to take action to prevent the
spread of COVID-19. However, it warns that such measures must not be merged
with migration-related policies and mechanisms and lead to violations of the
principle of non-refoulement or otherwise hinder access to instruments for
adequate protection.
The IACHR further acknowledges that this epidemiological crisis may
become a factor for forced displacement. A deepening COVID-19 pandemic may
cause new migration flows around the Americas, particularly among the social
groups with the weakest social protection networks. This requires that
States prepare themselves to integrate into their response mechanisms new
capacities as hosts. In the case of migrants, refugees, and other
individuals with special international protection needs who hail from
Venezuela, the pandemic can potentially reinforce existing displacement
factors, such as the search for healthcare services. From the point of view
of comprehensively protecting human rights, the IACHR and its SRESCER issue
an urgent call to countries in the Americas, asking them to comply with
their obligations concerning asylum seekers and refugees and to provide
treatment and other health services without discrimination. They further
note that all people—whatever their migration status or place of origin—have
the right to the same healthcare as citizens of a transit or host country.
The Commission and its SRESCER observe with concern that some countries
who host migrants are taking measures to partially or fully close their
borders with Venezuela and are intensifying raids against migrants and
reducing the capacity of services in charge of issuing and distributing the
relevant documents. For instance, the IACHR has been informed of
restrictions to freedom of movement adopted on both sides of the border
between Venezuela and Colombia. These restrictions include fully closing the
border on the Colombian side and opening a humanitarian corridor for
individuals who require medical care. In this context, the IACHR and its
SRESCER stress the need to ensure access to healthcare for Venezuelans with
chronic health problems and the need to conduct an assessment of the impact
of all measures restricting border crossings for thousands of Venezuelans
and Colombian-Venezuelans who used to cross the border every day to obtain
their food in Colombia.
Similarly, the Commission and its SRESCER believe it is urgent for States
to integrate into their prevention and assistance programs the emergency
needs of almost 5 million Venezuelans who have left their country—among
other millions of refugees and displaced persons around the Americas—and who
are set to be particularly affected by the current epidemiological crisis.
Commissioner Esmeralda Arosemena de Troitiño, the IACHR’s Rapporteur for
Venezuela, expressed her profound concern for the lives, health, and
integrity of Venezuelans inside and outside their country. She called for
regional solidarity to provide Venezuelans with the humanitarian assistance
and international protection they need.
The SRESCER is an autonomous office of the IACHR and was especially created to brace the Commission’s compliance with its mandate to promote and protect economic, social, cultural, and environmental rights in the Americas.
A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for and to defend human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.
No. 064/20