Distr. GENERAL
CCPR/C/79/Add.73
April 1997
Original: ENGLISH
HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE
Fifty-Ninth Session
CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES
PARTIES UNDER ARTICLE 40 OF THE COVENANT
Concluding Observations of the Human Rights Committee: Bolivia
1. The Committee considered the second periodic report of Bolivia (CCPR/C/63/Add.4
and HRI/CORE/1/Add.54) at its 1562nd and 1563rd meetings on 25 March 1997
(CCPR/C/SR.1562 and SR.1563) and subsequently adopted1 the following
comments:
A. Introduction
2. The Committee welcomes the second periodic report submitted by the
State party and the delegation's willingness to engage in a frank dialogue
with the Committee. The Committee regrets, however, that although the report
provides information on general legislative reforms in Bolivia, they remain
largely unadopted by Parliament. The delegation candidly admitted that
there have been difficulties in the implementation of all the reforms which
would when approved create a legal system more compliant with the Covenant.
The Committee appreciated the presence of a highly competent delegation
which provided in depth and helpful information to the Committee in addressing
its questions and thus allowed it to obtain a clearer view of the overall
human rights situation in the State party.
3. The Committee commends the State party for the core document (HRI/CORE/1/Add.54),
which recognized many of the problems existing in the country.
B. Factors and difficulties affecting the implementation of the
Covenant
4. The Committee recognizes that the State party, which is emerging
from a change of government that ended a long period of dictatorial rule,
is undergoing a transition towards democracy in which the infrastructure
necessary for the implementation of the Covenant has not been fully developed.
The Committee notes that many encouraging legislative initiatives with
respect to human rights are meeting with difficulties, and that a full
assessment of their implementation is not yet possible.
5. The Committee notes that social and economic disparities are all
pervasive in the country and result in high levels of poverty and illiteracy,
lack of opportunities especially as regards the indigenous population,
women and the poor.
C. Positive aspects
6. The Committee notes with satisfaction Bolivia's efforts to democratize
and match its level of human rights protection with international standards.
7. The Committee particularly welcomes the promulgation of the 1994
Constitution, which incorporates provisions for the protection of civil
and political rights. The Committee welcomes the current Government's declared
intentions to put an end to serious violations of human rights and to create
a better political, constitutional and legal framework to allow the full
implementation of the rights enshrined in the Covenant.
8. The Committee notes with satisfaction the reform of the Penal Code which abolishes the death penalty.
9. The Committee also welcomes the legal reforms undertaken, notably
constitutional amendments to bring Bolivian law in conformity with international
human rights standards, the adoption of legislation to abolish imprisonment
and physical constraint for the enforcement of economic obligations (Ley
de Abolición de Prisión y Apremio Corporal por Obligaciones
Patrimoniales), the new Bail Act (Ley de Fianza Juratoria contra la Retardación
de Justicia Penal), the law against domestic violence (Ley contra la Violencia
Intrafamiliar o Doméstica), the reforms in the legislation governing
the electoral system (Ley de Reformas y Complementacion al Régimen
Electoral), the legal aid programme (Programa de Defensa Pública),
the Habeas Corpus and Amparo.
10. The Committee welcomes the re-institution after 100 years of the
Minsitry of Justice as well as the establishment of the Human Rights Department
within the Ministry of Justice and the establishment of the Gender Department.
The Committee further welcomes the creation of the necessary legal machinery
to receive complaints and manage various aspects of human rights issues,
including the Ministry of Justice, the Parliamentary Commission for Human
Rights, Legal Aid and the Public Prosecutors Office, and the creation of
a Human Rights Office in the Chapare area.
11. The Committee welcomes the information that torture, forced disappearances
and extra-judicial executions are punishable offences in Bolivia. It also
welcomes the information that military tribunals have no jurisdiction except
within the military institution and that cases of human rights violations
by members of the army and the security forces fall under the jurisdiction
of civil courts.
12. The Committee further welcomes the fact that the number of persons
being held in pre-trial detention has significantly decreased.
13. The Committee notes the penal reforms that have abolished the discrimination
against the Amazon Indians, where they had been considered criminally irresponsible
by the mere reason of their Indian origin. It also welcomes the reforms
that have introduced legislation which allows the indigenous populations
to receive education in their mother tongues, and the enactment of measures
which permit the Indian communities to maintain their traditional means
of livelihood.
D. Principal subjects of concern
14. The Committee is concerned that the State party's legislation in
respect of the State of Siege does not comply with the provisions of the
Covenant. There is no constitutional provision which prohibits the derogation
of the relevant rights of the Covenant and the expression (conmoción
interior) is much too wide to fall within the scope of article 4 of the
Covenant. Furthermore, the Committee is concerned that minimum guarantees
were not complied with during the State of Siege, declared in 1995.
15. The Committee is concerned that the current legislation for combating
impunity has proven to be ineffective in the identification, trial and
punishment of those responsible for human rights violations, and the payment
of compensation to the victims. It also notes that members of the armed
forces and other government officials who were involved in the most serious
human rights violations have not always been dismissed and continue to
take advantage of their positions, thus reinforcing the impunity within
the State party. It is also concerned with the delays and failures of the
process of law and of the non-compliance by the police with United Nations
minimum standards.
16. The Committee notes with concern that members of various social
sectors, particularly human rights activists and members of trade-unions
are subject to intimidation, thus facing serious obstacles in the legitimate
exercise of their rights.
17. The Committee is concerned that national laws in conflict with the
Covenant remain on the books, in particular the Coca and Controlled substances
Law (Law No. 1008). The Committee is particularly concerned that articles
86 and 116 of this Law remove the investigating process from judicial control,
that the right to bail is severely restricted, that articles 74 and 125
deny the right of detainees undergoing illness to be treated with humanity,
and that other provisions undermine the presumption of innocence (articles
82 and 117), the right to an impartial tribunal (articles 82 and 127),
the right of defence (article 117), the right to be tried in his presence
(article 113) and the right to challenge any aspects of process (article
128)
18. The Committee is particularly concerned that release on bail is
never possible for those persons charged with offences that carry a penalty
of two or more years of imprisonment and that the presumption of innocence
is not respected under current Bolivian legislation.
19. The Committee expresses concern about the lack of independence and
efficiency of the judiciary and the long delays in the administration of
justice, which do not conform with the requirements of articles 9 and 14
of the Covenant,
20. The Committee notes with concern the conditions in places of detention.
21. The Committee is concerned that, despite constitutional guarantees
for the rights of women and laws attempting to put an end to the discrimination,
women continue to receive unequal treatment in Bolivia due in part to the
continuation of traditional attitudes and outdated laws that clearly contradict
the provisions of the Covenant. It further notes, that labor laws do not
protect the rights of women adequately and particularly those engaged in
domestic work.
22. The Committee expresses its concern about the very high level of
maternity mortality referred to in the report much of which arises from
the effects of illegal abortion. In this regard, it regrets that the State
party could not provide information about the effect of laws that criminalize
abortion laws on this high level of deaths.
23. The Committee is also concerned with the exploitation of children
in employment including the practice of the " criadito" and the
growing numbers of street children.
24. The Committee is concerned at the curtailment of the rights of members
of trade unions to associate, to freedom of assembly and expression and
at the high levels of violence against trade union members, at the intimidation
by police agents of peaceful demonstrations, and at the high number of
cases of strikes that are deemed illegal. It is particularly concerned
with the incidents occurred in Potosi and Chapare.
25. The Committee expresses concern at the impact of the security forces
violence which curtails the enjoyment by members of indigenous groups of
their rights under article 27 of the Covenant. In that connection, the
Committee is concerned that despite the legislation enacted to allow the
indigenous communities to enjoy the use of their traditional lands in a
communal way, discriminations and other obstacles continue to exist to
the full enjoyment of the rights protected under article 27 of the Covenant.
E. Suggestions and recommendations
26. The Committee strongly encourages the Government to enact the new
draft legal framework for the protection of human rights in the State party,
to ensure full conformity with the Covenant, in particular the new Code
of Criminal Procedure, aiming at the modernization of the Bolivian legal
and judicial structures and allowing the investigation and punishment of
human rights violations.
27. The Committee urges the state party to put into place the necessary
mechanisms to avoid a recurrence of the events surrounding the 1995 State
of Siege, where the police used excessive violence against the members
of teachers unions.
28. The Committee urges the State party to investigate allegations of
human rights violations, in order to bring to justice perpetrators of past
and present human rights abuses. It recommends that an independent mechanism
be instituted for dealing with complaints of police violence and that the
existence of this mechanism be publicized. It further urges the State party
to act on the findings of its investigations, to bring to justice the perpetrators
and to provide proper compensation to the victims, particularly with respect
to continuing occurrences of torture and ill-treatment by the police and
security forces.
29. The Committee recommends that the State party amends Law 1008, in
order to make it compatible with the State party's obligations under the
Covenant.
30. The Committee urges the State party to comply with article 10, paragraph
2 of the Covenant by separating accused persons from convicted persons
in prison and juvenile offenders from adults.
31. The Committee recommends that the Office of Ombudsman and the Constitutional
Court be put into place as soon as possible and that both be given broad
jurisdiction and sufficient resources to guarantee the enjoyment of human
rights.
32. The Committee urges the State party to take effective measures to
abolish the practice of the "criadito".
33. The Committee recommends that an educational programme be devised
so that all segments of the population, in particular members of the army,
security forces and the police, and members of the judiciary and lawyers,
are better acquainted with international standards for the protection and
observance of human rights and human dignity.
34. The Committee recommends that the independence of the Judiciary
be ensured and a law regulating it be enacted. It further recommends that
the nomination of judges should be based on their competence and not their
political affiliation. The Committee also recommends that responsibility
for the judicial police be transferred from the executive to the judiciary.
35. The Committee recommends that further measures, such as those of
the " Justicia Communal", be taken to ensure that members of
indigenous groups be protected against violence within the country and
enjoy fully their rights under article 27 of the Covenant, particularly
with regard to preservation of their culture, language and religion. The
legislation on indigenous communities should be enacted without delay.
36. The Committee recommends that the State party include in its next
report comprehensive information on the issues raised during the consideration
of the report, particularly on the effectiveness of the laws under review
or in existence, the evolving roles of the institutions established for
the protection of human rights, and the system of coordination of the various
institutions. In this regard, the Committee recommends that the Government
draw on the assistance available through the High Commissioner / Centre
for Human Rights technical cooperation services.
37. The Committee urges that respect for human rights be institutionalized at all levels of the government and recommends that human rights education be provided in schools at all levels and that these Concluding Observations be widely disseminated.
