Transcript Diapositiva 1

LIBERAL REGIONAL NETWORKS AND
HUMAN RIGHTS PROMOTION
Marcela Prieto Botero
RELIAL
Latin American Liberal Network
Taipei, December 8th/2007
RELIAL - LATIN AMERICAN
LIBERAL NETWORK
RELIAL is a Latin American liberal network composed by
political parties, think tanks and influential individuals
committed with the defense and promotion of democracy
and free market principles.
Our values and areas of action are:
• Liberty and self responsibility
• Freedom from government
• Free market economy
• Democracy
• Property Rights
• Fight against poverty
• Rule of law
• Peace
www.relial.org
MEMBERS OF RELIAL
RELIAL - LATIN AMERICAN
LIBERAL NETWORK
INTRODUCTION
AND
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
IN LATIN AMERICA
RELIAL - LATIN AMERICAN
LIBERAL NETWORK
Some reasons that have hindered an affective
application of human rights in Latin America:
• The reduction of size of the State and the crack in
the protectionist state model.
• Institutional weakness, corruption and restricted
access to systems of justice.
• The scant relation between economic growth and social
development.
• The existence of a disjointed civil society and with scarce
capacity for interlocution with the State.
RELIAL - LATIN AMERICAN
LIBERAL NETWORK
Historical background:
- 60’s - 80’s: military and
authoritarian-leaning
governments. Southern Cone
countries and Central America
(cold war)
- Presence of guerrilla groups
with wide support from the
people.
- Serious restrictions to
fundamental liberties:
-Restrictions to the right
of assembly and political
participation.
- Intervention of trade
unions and social
organizations.
-Censorship to the
communication media.
-Dissolution of Congress
and/or governing
bodies.
-Threats, torture,
summary executions,
disappearances and
forced displacement.
RELIAL - LATIN AMERICAN
LIBERAL NETWORK
Historical background:
- 90’s: peace processes
and transition to
democracy.
- Economic globalization
process.
- Change in the main role
of the State.
- Ratification or Adhesion
to international human
rights covenants.
- Acceptance of the
presence of the
community and
international courts
(war crimes)
- Establishment of truth
commissions.
- Peace agreements
with military rebels.
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LIBERAL NETWORK
The fact that democracy and human rights
are a shared responsibility of the State,
citizens and the market (businesses)
cannot be ignored, and only by acting
jointly in the same direction can these be
sustainable.
RELIAL - LATIN AMERICAN
LIBERAL NETWORK
Nowadays situation
• 21 countries (with the exception of Cuba and Venezuela, and
increasingly Ecuador, Bolivia and Nicaragua), show respect for
individual freedoms and the free markets promotion.
• Generalized crisis of governance and representation – often
due to the lack of solid political parties. Processes for perfecting
justice systems.
• Advance in terms of economic, social and cultural rights: health
services (subsidized systems), education (schools through
concession) and residential public utilities (self-management)
• In environmental terms: laws and norms for the protection of
non-renewable natural resources (rethinking forestry
exploitation practices, the emission of polluting gases, waste
handling and the use of fossil fuel, etc.)
RELIAL - LATIN AMERICAN
LIBERAL NETWORK
Nowadays situation
-Main problems: the inclusion of previously excluded social sectors,
overcoming the informal economy and unemployment, and
achieving commercial goals in respect to free trade treaties
(worker’s rights, trade union rights and fair trade)
•Economic growth subjected to the control of inflation, reduction of
foreign debt and poverty fight. It shows that the region has all the
potentially resources to reach a better development levels, subject
to the adoption of competitiveness policies in line with a globalized
world.
• Successful cases: Chile, Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador.
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CASE STUDIES:
CUBA, VENEZUELA, COLOMBIA, CHILE,
EL SALVADOR, MÉXICO
CUBA
• The presence of the communism
in the continent.
• Is the country with the greatest
violations of fundamental rights,
such as the right to freely
associate, to mobility and freedom.
• Here, political dissidence and criticizing the establishment are punished,
especially in opponents and defenders of human rights.
• According to Amnesty International and Human Right Watch, there are
more than 300 political prisoners in Cuba.
•Large part of the international community has voice its rejection about
political situation in Cuba, and has subjected many of its commercial and
political relations to changes in the handling of the country’s regime.
•Unfortunate, clear conditions for a speedy democratic transition in Cuba
do not yet appear to be rising.
VENEZUELA
• Venezuela is living through one of the most difficult political
moments in its history (government of Hugo Chávez)
• Failed referendum for a constitutional reform, wanted to
impose a higher concentration of the presidential power and
restrictions to the fundamental liberties.
• Socialist economy based on
control and oil income.
• Internal polarization that can be
exploited for social violence and
armed confrontation.
• Opposition movements acting
inside institutional channels.
• Important role of the university
students against the regime.
VENEZUELA
Recent opinion poll about the impact of the constitutional reform.
(Pollster: MERCANÁLISIS. November 2007)
If the reform is approved, you think you will enjoy more or less of:
100
80
60
60
56
54
56
56
20
25
27
25
24
FREEDOM
SECURITY
PROGRESS
HAPPINESS
EQUALITY
40
20
0
MORE
LESS
COLOMBIA
•
One of the most stable democracies in
the continent.
•
Internal armed conflict (over 40 years)
linked to drug trafficking.
•
Negotiation process with the selfdefense forces. Transitional justice and
alternate penalties model.
•
The country has reached levels of
sustained growth over the past four or
five years.
•
This growth has helped to decrease
poverty, unemployment and the informal
economy.
•
Democratic Security Policy (government
of Alvaro Uribe): reduction of human
rights violations rates and international
humanitarian law rates.
COLOMBIA
Some results of the Democratic Security Policy:
• Forced displacement: has decreased 52,48% during the last 5
years.
• Kidnapping: 2.986 cases in 2002 687 cases in 2006. In the
same period, extorcive kidnapping decreased in 83,19%.
• Homicides: decreased from 28.837 cases in 2002 to 17.479 in 2006.
• Massacres: victims rates decreased 71,62% between 2002 and 2006
(because of paramilitary demobilization)
• Unionist murder: decreased of 79,33%, from 121 unionist murdered
in 2002 to 25 in 2006.
COLOMBIA
Some results of the Democratic Security Policy:
• Labor movement: Colombian government subscribed with
workers and employers the “Tripartite Agreement on Freedom
of Association and Democracy”.
• Social and cultural rights: approval of the “Act of Infancy and
Adolescents”, which contributes to eliminate the worst ways of
labor exploitation of children.
• Poverty rates: decreased from 56% to 45% during the last 5
years.
• Economy: has grown more than 5% during the same period.
CHILE
• One of the standout cases of
democratization in Latin America, after
almost 20 years of military dictatorship.
• One of the most solid economies in the
continent, throughout the implementation of
a liberal economic model (since the military
governments)
• Since 90’s, transition to civilian
governments (“Coalition government”)
among the 3 most important political parties
of the country.
• Despite the serious violations of human
rights committed by the State, the country
has started truth, justice and reparations
proceedings, and criminal sanctions against
the responsible actors.
• Fight against impunity. Case of former
dictator Augusto Pinochet.
CHILE
Main problems in terms of human rights:
• Acting on the claims of indigenous people and sexual
minorities.
• Fight against drug consumption (youth)
• Provision of public utilities to all the population (including a
subsidized transportation system).
• Inclusion of previously excluded social sectors.
• Effectively combating impunity in cases of detaineddisappeared persons
EL SALVADOR
• Transition to
democracy after a
peace process with
guerrilla groups (90’s).
• UN mission on peace
keeping.
• Truth commissions and judgment processes for violations of human
rights.
• El Salvador has taken up important commercial agreements (such as
CAFTA-DR), that have forced the country to improve its standards on the
subject of salary and union rights, among others changes.
• Main challenges in human rights: fight against extreme poverty; the
problem of mass emigration, especially toward the United States, the
universalization of education and health services, and the socialization
and acknowledge of young gangs or Maras.
MÉXICO
• Illegal emigration to the United
States. Violations to fundamental
human rights, due to the
construction of a wall that forbids
the movement of Mexican and
Central American emigrants to the
north.
• High dependence on the
remittance.
• Drug trafficking
• Poverty levels above 40%.
• The human rights situation
does not differ much from the
rest of the countries in the
region.
RELIAL - LATIN AMERICAN
LIBERAL NETWORK
CONCLUSIONS:
CHALLENGES
AND
THE WORK OF NETWORKS
RELIAL - LATIN AMERICAN
LIBERAL NETWORK
- All the countries in Latin-American have shown significant
advances on the subject of promotion, protection and the defense of
human rights, of a first, second and third generation.
- There has been progress in the acknowledgement and inclusion of
new social actors, not only as beneficiaries of the State’s rights, but
also as being directly responsible for the vigor and promotion of
these rights.
-The big challenge now (especially for political parties and liberal
organizations), is to be capable of committing efforts to task such as
the followings.
- Driving and formulating public policies that promote and protect
human rights.
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LIBERAL NETWORK
-The discussion regarding development models based on individual
freedoms and free economic competition which provide citizens with
the basic conditions and tools to build their own development.
- The vigilance of democracy in preventing the rise of leaders and
populist discourse that runs counter to the ends of the Rule of Law.
- The inclusion of the various actors in decision-making processes
(through representation or direct participation), and
- Training and education in civic values and citizenship for knowledge
and in exercising duties and rights, among many others.
THANK YOU
Marcela Prieto Botero
RELIAL
Photos: Andrew Moore