AG/DEC. 28 (XXXII-O/02)
DECLARATION ON DEMOCRACY IN VENEZUELA
(Adopted at the fourth plenary session held on June
4, 2002)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
CONSIDERING
that the Charter of the Organization of American States recognizes that
representative democracy is an indispensable condition for the stability,
peace, and development of the region, and that one of the main purposes of the
OAS is to promote and consolidate it, with due respect for the principle of
nonintervention;
CONSIDERING that Venezuela
is a country with profound and proven democratic convictions;
CONSIDERING
that on April 11, 2002, there was a serious alteration of the constitutional
order and an interruption of democracy;
RECALLING
that, at the twenty-ninth special session of the General Assembly, held in
Washington, D.C., on April 18, 2002, in compliance with resolution CP/RES. 811
(1315/02), the General Assembly noted its “satisfaction at the restoration
of the constitutional order and the democratically elected government of
President Hugo Chávez Frías”;
RECALLING
resolution AG/RES. 1 (XXXIX-E/02), which agreed to support the initiative of
the Government of Venezuela to call for a national all-inclusive dialogue and to encourage all sectors of Venezuelan
society to participate therein and to devote
their best and most determined efforts to bringing about the full exercise of
democracy in Venezuela, abiding fully by the Constitution and taking into
account the essential elements of representative democracy set forth in
Articles 3 and 4 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter;
CONSIDERING
that Article 1 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter proclaims that “the
peoples of the Americas have a right to democracy and their governments have
an obligation to promote and defend it”;
CONSIDERING
that the essential elements of representative democracy include, inter
alia, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, access to the
exercise of power in accordance with the rule of law, the holding of periodic,
free, and fair elections based on secret balloting and universal suffrage as
an expression of the sovereignty of the people, the pluralistic system of
political parties and organizations, and the separation of powers;
CONSIDERING
resolution CP/RES. 811 and the provisions of resolution AG/RES…. (XXIX-E/02)
on the situation in Venezuela;
CONSIDERING
that the institutions of the Venezuelan State are currently conducting a full
investigation into the causes of the events that took place on April 11-14;
and
ENCOURAGED
even more by the Government of Venezuela’s expressed interest in and
willingness to make progress with dialogue and reconciliation, in an effort to
resolve the political crisis in Venezuela; we welcome all international
collaborative initiatives that support that effort,
AGREES:
1.
To reiterate the OAS’s willingness to provide the support and
assistance that the Government of Venezuela requires to consolidate its
democratic process.
2.
To reiterate our determination to continue applying, without distinction,
and in strict accordance with the letter and spirit of the Inter-American
Democratic Charter, the mechanisms provided for in the Inter-American
Democratic Charter for the preservation and defense of representative
democracy, reiterating the rejection of the use of violence to replace any
democratic government in the Hemisphere.
3.
To encourage the Government of Venezuela to explore the opportunities the
OAS affords for promoting the national dialogue that is currently taking place
in Venezuela and that was convoked by President Hugo Chávez Frías in the
interests of furthering national reconciliation.
4.
To acknowledge and welcome the unanimous decision of the National
Assembly of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to set up a Truth Commission
to investigate the acts of violence, and the consequent loss of life, that
occurred on April 11 to 14, 2002, in the conviction that such an exercise will
contribute to the transparency of the democratic process.
