Amnesty International on Venezuela: Urgent Action RequiredAmnesty International Urgent Action NetworkRECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Spanish or your own language: - calling on the authorities to ensure that all public security policing operations are carried out in line with United Nations standards on the minimum use of force and firearms; - recognising the duty of the authorities to maintain public order, but calling on them to respect the right to peaceful protest; - reminding the authorities of their responsibility to ensure that all detentions are carried out in accordance with the law and international standards (which guarantee the right of those detained to be brought before a judge promptly and charged with a recognisably criminal offence or released, and to be allowed access to their families, legal advice and medical attention) and to ensure the right to a fair trial; - calling for the deaths and injuries that have occurred during the present political violence to be fully and impartially investigated; - insisting all allegations of human rights violations committed by the police and security forces are investigated promptly, impartially and exhaustively, for the results to be made public and for those found responsible to be brought to justice. Please also include in your appeals a line noting that Amnesty International condemns all human rights violations and has called on the opposition to ensure that its protests respect human rights and do not contribute to the increase in political violence and undermine the rule of law. APPEALS TO: President of the Republic Attorney General of the Republic Minister of Interior and Justice Human Rights Groups COFAVIC, And to diplomatic representatives of Venezuela accredited to your country. PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 15 April 2004. © by Vcrisis.com & the author |