LIBERAL REGIONAL NETWORKS AND HUMAN RIGHTS PROMOTION

Marcela Prieto BoteroRELIAL

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

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:

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-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.

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.

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- Acceptance of the presence of the community and international courts (war crimes)

- Establishment of truth commissions.

- Peace agreements with military rebels.

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.

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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

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.

CASE STUDIES:

CUBA, VENEZUELA, COLOMBIA, CHILE,

EL SALVADOR, MÉXICO

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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.

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FREEDOM SECURITY PROGRESS HAPPINESS EQUALITY

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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:

COLOMBIA

• One of the most stable democracies in the continent.

• Internal armed conflict (over 40 years) linked to drug trafficking.

• Negotiation process with the self-defense 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.

COLOMBIASome 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.

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 detained-

disappeared persons

CHILE

• 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.

• Transition to democracy after a peace process with guerrilla groups (90’s).

• UN mission on peace keeping.

EL SALVADOR

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.

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CONCLUSIONS:

CHALLENGES

AND

THE WORK OF NETWORKS

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- 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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-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