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Madam Commissioner, for six (6) months now we have observed how, across most of Bolivia, authorities under the dictatorial command of “interim president” Ms. Jeanine Añez, with the support of the Army, Police and para-military groups, have consistently violated with impunity the human rights of trade union leaders, indigenous peasants, students, academics, leaders of the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) party and other political organisations opposed to the regime. These violations have included selective assassinations, mass killings, kidnappings and subsequent disappearances, street beatings, attacks on media freedom and attacks on freedom of assembly and social protest. These violations have been committed by the respective authorities under the mandate of the current “interim president” Añez, in broad daylight and in front of numerous witnesses, who face severe threats if they dare to report any of these criminal acts.

Madam Commissioner, the international community, as well as our Association, are certain that your office has already received documentation regarding these serious and recurring complaints of human rights violations against hundreds and thousands of Bolivian citizens. These violations, without any doubt, are the result of directives coming from the current Bolivian president in order to sustain herself in power, sacrificing in the process the valuable lives of men, women and children who demand respect for their human rights.

Madam Commissioner, the international community, as well as our Association, have observed that not one international or regional organization has issued a statement on this situation. Moreover, we note with concern that no investigation has been opened up into these violations. This is as true for the Inter-American Human Rights Commission as it is for the United Nations Human Rights Commission, over which you preside.

Madam Commissioner, as a way of ending our first correspondence with your office, we would like to clearly illustrate our concern for the grave and persistent violations of human rights in Bolivia by outlining to you an emblematic case that demonstrates how the actual government is violating the human rights of its citizens

Case of Patricia Hermosa (Bolivian lawyer)

• Hermosa was captured by police on January 31, 2020
• At the time of her arrest, she was pregnant
• She was accused of terrorism, sedition and financing terrorism
• Six months later, no formal process has been opened up against her
• During this time her health has continued to deteriorate, leading Hermosa to lose her baby and suffer heavy bleedings for which she has received no medical attention
• While in prison Patricia Hermosa was subjected to psychological intimidation.

As you can see, the aforementioned case is a pitiful criminal act that demands the immediate legal intervention of the UN Human Rights Commission over which you preside.

We also wish to point out that Bolivia’s “interim president” has openly and fragrantly violated the Preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as a number of the articles contained within it. For example, Article 8, which establishes: “Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law,” and Article 10, which states: “Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.”

Moreover, the current Constitution of the Plurinational State of Bolivia enshrines and outlines the human rights conferred to all Bolivian citizens, without any distinctions.

Madam Commissioner, given the grave and recurrent nature of the institutionalised violence carried out by the Bolivian government, our Association, and the community in general, requests that you urgently intervene to oppose this repressive and abusive governmental policy and investigate those responsible for these crimes against humanity. We urgently request that you intervene in the case of the lawyer, Patricia Hermosa, and in other cases that we bring to your attention in the near future, guaranteeing they are afforded all the rights outlined in national and international laws.

This petition has the support of various social, human rights, religious, cultural and environmental organisations, as well as journalists and academics.

ASSOCIATION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN BOLIVIA

Under this interim government a well-organized plan of terror and human rights violations has been carried out by institutions such as the military, the police and various civil and administrative groups. These violent actions have been inflicted upon the Bolivian populace in order to silence their demands for the return of democracy and respect for their human rights.

Most reprehensible of all is the use of the pandemic to postpone the elections, now set for October 18, 2020. With this latest postponement, the people have taken to the streets and the roads and highways to demand their right to free and transparent elections.

Because of these events, our Association for Human Rights in Bolivia would like to take this opportunity to strongly denounce the actions of the interim government in their campaign to thwart the rights of the Bolivian people to elect their own government themselves.

We would also call on our sister human rights organizations, in Bolivia and in other parts of the world, to undertake activities of protest, denunciation and condemnation in order to support the Bolivian people.

Sydney , 16th August 2020

We have been especially concerned about the issue of elections in Bolivia, which have been due to take place next month.

We believe that your position on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee gives you an especially strong platform to call out the Bolivian government for their failures towards the human rights of the Bolivian people, and we would respectfully urge you to continue to do so.

The members of our group have no political party affiliations, in Bolivia or in Australia, and we represent no religious points of view. We are solely dedicated to the restoration and the maintenance of human right in Bolivia.

We have written to the United Nations Human Rights Commission as well as other groups with the aim of bringing about increased pressure on the current government to adhere to international human rights laws. We are also writing to Interim President Añez herself to demand that she abide by her duties to the Bolivian people.

We were founded in May of this year and are currently in the process of formal registration as an Association so that we can more effectively carry out our work supporting human rights in Bolivia.

Thank you again for speaking out for human rights in Bolivia.

Sincerely,

Mary-Jane Field
On behalf of the Association for Human Rights in Bolivia
Sydney, Australia