Executive Secretary Santiago Cantón and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) claim Venezuela has some major problems that need addressing. (Courtesy of IACHR)

CARACAS, Venezuela – Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez threatened to withdraw his country from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) as a result of the commission’s report Democracy and Human Rights in Venezuela.

Chávez called the findings in the 300-page document that highlights the human rights violations in Venezuela “ignominious” and “indescribable.” The report claims abuses against human rights advocates, women and journalists.

The Venezuelan president, however, has forced the IACHR to do its reporting from afar, as he’s prohibited the group from entering the country since 2002.

Chávez’s administration refutes the report, which was released on Feb. 24, claiming there is no political intolerance, restriction on free speech, or repression of dissidents and the government works on behalf of the people and betterment of the country.

Roy Chaderton, the Venezuelan ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS) – a group Venezuela would be forced to leave if it withdraws from the IACHR – believes the report is part of the United States’ agenda to cast Chávez in a negative light entering the September elections.

Félix Arellano, the director of the school of international studies at the Universidad Central de Venezuela, describes Chávez’s reaction to the report as “irrational.”

“If the government states that here we do not violate human rights, I do not know why it is afraid of the IACHR,” he said. “The role of Venezuela is to defend itself if it believes that the arguments are false or tendentious, not to offend or discredit the institution.”

Arellano added: “It would not surprise me if Venezuela withdrew from the OAS; it already did so from the Andean Community and Group of Three.”

Carlos Correa, director of Espacio Público (Public Space), a non-governmental organization that is an advocate of freedom of expression and access to information, stressed that independence of the supreme court is an important chapter in the IACHR report.

“One of the essential elements in the human rights situation for any country is the independence of the supreme court,” he said. “In the case of human rights, the potential victimizer is the state. If you do not have an independent supreme court, there is no guarantee of human rights.”

Correa said that since the IACHR is an independent body, its report is credible. He added it would be illegal for Venezuela to withdraw from the IACHR and OAS because human rights are key components of the Venezuelan Constitution, which guarantees that citizens can appeal possible violations to international organizations. So if Chávez wants to withdraw from either group, he’ll first have to change the Constitution.

“The exit of Venezuela from the OAS would mean that we are exempt from observation by the commission regarding human rights in the country,” he said. “Human rights are part of our Constitution.”