PRESS RELEASE

 

N° 76/10

 

IACHR TAKES CASE INVOLVING VENEZUELA TO THE INTER-AMERICAN COURT

 

Washington, D.C., August 3, 2010—The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) submitted Case 12.488 (Barrios Family, Venezuela) to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

 

The case was submitted on July 26, 2010, due to the persecution of members of the family by police agents of the state of Aragua. As part of that persecution, five members of the Barrios family have been killed, one of whom was still a child. In addition, several persons have been detained and subject to illegal and arbitrary searches, have had their lives and personal integrity threatened, and have been forced to move from their place of residence, a situation that has seriously affected the members of the family, including the children. All the human rights violations committed against the Barrios family remain in impunity. The majority of the violations against the life and personal integrity of the victims occurred after the bodies of the inter-American human rights system had already sought the protection of the Barrios family through the mechanisms of precautionary measures or provisional measures. The State did not provide effective protection measures, and several members of the Barrios family to date continue to be subjected to a situation of risk and vulnerability. The facts of the case fall within a more general context of extrajudicial executions in Venezuela by regional police forces, a situation the Inter-American Commission has been following closely through various mechanisms.

 

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 the mandate to promote respect for human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this matter. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in a personal capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

 

Useful links

Provisional Measure, Eloisa Barrios et al, Venezuela. Order of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, February 4, 2010

Press Release 81/09: IACHR Condemns Killing in Venezuela of Oscar Barrios, beneficiary of Provisional Measures of the Inter-American Court

Precautionary Measure granted on June 22, 2004 by the IACHR in favor of Eloisa Barrios and her family, Venezuela

Admissibility Report 23/05, Narciso Barrios et al, Venezuela

Admissibility Report 01/09, Benito Antonio Barrios et al, Venezuela

Applications and Cases filed to the Inter-American Court by the IACHR

IACHR Press Office

Oficina de Prensa de la CIDH

IACHR website

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read this press release in Spanish / Lea este comunicado de prensa en español

 

Press contact: María Isabel Rivero
Tel. (202) 458-3867
E-mail:
mrivero@oas.org

 

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