“We had planned this visit to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Rogelio Mayta) practically since the beginning of the government of President Arce, who is committed to human rights,” he told a press conference.
According to Lima, the executive branch led by Arce is the one that has submitted the most reports to the universal human rights system.
Referring to the IACHR mission, which consists of five of its seven commissioners and other up to 25 officials, who will start a site visit from this Monday, the minister stressed that their aim is to be informed about the situation in this issue without intermediaries, adding that its agenda is unlimited.
“They come to the country to listen to the human rights concerns of the state, civil society and also vulnerable groups,” he commented.
He described that from this Monday to March 31, they will meet with the authorities of the four state agencies and representatives of civil society to verify compliance with human rights.
He added that it is a coordinated program, although visitors also create their own agenda about the meetings they will have with civil society and the victims of the strike with 36-day blockades in Santa Cruz at the end of 2022, victims of the massacres , held by Sacaba (Cochabamba) and Senkata (El Alto city, La Paz department) and other groups in vulnerable situations.
He reiterated the clarification that this “on-site” visit is an issue that the national government has been discussing for a long time and that it is not an IACHR decision.
For his part, the Deputy Minister for Justice and Fundamental Rights, César Siles, recalled that this presence of the IACHR comes after 17 years and now aims to shed light on the situation on this matter.
“Now it’s a broader, more global visit,” he said, “in this case, it doesn’t mean reviewing cases individually, it doesn’t mean taking complaints, it doesn’t mean checking compliance with a previous report, they’re going to assess the.” Correctional policy in the country, how much it has changed in these 17 years, it will cater to vulnerable groups.”
He commented that in a statement, the IACHR recognized the openness of the Bolivian state and thanked it for agreeing to receive the visitors led by its President and Commissioner Margarette May Macaulay.
Siles stressed that the government’s invitation was to “an impartial third party” to issue a “transparent and objective report with both sides of the coin”.
The recommendations they issue will be binding, the deputy minister concluded.
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