Despite Progress, Ecuador and Venezuela need to make improvements Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

ohchr.org (12 December 2017) – Progress in the social sector in Venezuela and Ecuador, consistent with the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, should be more generally known and recognized, a UN human rights expert has said.

In this context, regional integration and cooperation with international organizations should be boosted to ensure that social programmes are continued and improved, said Alfred de Zayas, Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order, after an official mission to study the two countries’ government programmes to advance social progress and improve standards of living, especially of the most vulnerable in society.

But social progress goes hand in hand with civil and political rights and must not be achieved at the expense of civil liberties, he added.

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“On the other hand, I am also aware of endemic problems that persist or have worsened in the region, including poverty, corruption, scarcity of certain food items and medicines, failure to ensure free, prior and informed consent in the extractive sector, inflation, inefficient distribution, insufficient separation of powers, electoral irregularities and repression of dissent.

“Likewise, external realities, including the escape of national funds into tax havens, foreign incursions into the regulatory space of governments, counterproductive unilateral coercive measures, contraband in food and medicine, and a lack of mutual legal assistance when public resources are illicitly diverted, constitute serious obstacles to fulfilling human rights obligations, not only economic and social but also civil and political,” the expert said.

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Recognizing that the underlying causes of the current situation were varied and inter-connected, Mr. de Zayas recommended that the government of Venezuela exercise more flexibility with its monetary policies, build technical capacity in public administration and regularly publish data on nutritional status, epidemiology, inflation and the budget.

In Ecuador, he proposed that the government strengthen programmes against corruption, institute a financial transactions tax and expand its prohibition of tax evasion to include private sector individuals and corporations. Read Full Article