November 10, 2003

Contact:
Jennifer Meriam, Director
(954) 262-5355
Mike Laderman, Associate Director
(954) 262-5354
Mara Kiffin, Coordinator
(954) 262-5350

Inter-american Center For Human Rights, Venezuelan Society For Human Rights To Host Press Conference At Nova Southeastern University Announcing Petition Against Venezuelan Government

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL— The Inter-American Center for Human Rights, headquartered at Nova Southeastern University’s Shepard Broad Law Center, will host a press conference at NSU on Wednesday, November 12, at 10:30 a.m. to announce the filings of two petitions with the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights on behalf of Venezuela’s largest confederation of trade unions and two prominent political leaders.

NSU law professors Doug Donoho and Jim Wilets (board members of the Inter-American Center for Human Rights) prepared the petition with assistance from NSU students and the Venezuelan Society for Human Rights.

The petitions are on behalf of the more than two million members of the Confederacion de Trabajadores de Venezuela, Carlos Ortega, and Carlos Fernandez. The CTV is Venezuela’s largest trade union confederation and represents approximately 70 percent of the nation’s unionized labor force. Carlos Ortega was elected president of the CTV in 2001 in an internationally monitored election that the government has refused to recognize. Carlos Fernandez is the recent past-president of Federacion de Camaras y Asociaciones de Comercio y Produccion de Venezuela (Fedecamaras), an organization that represents approximately 70 percent of Venezuela’s private businesses. The government forced both individuals into exile after arresting them on charges of treason based upon their non-violent opposition to government policies.

“In order to stifle free speech and political opposition, the Venezuelan government has subjected Carlos Ortega and Carlos Fernandez to harassment and unlawful arrest,” Donoho explained. “As a result, both individuals have been forced to flee Venezuela out of fear for their personal safety.”

“The government of Venezuela has systematically violated the most basic human rights of the organizations’ membership,” Wilets added. “More than two million workers have been disenfranchised, harassed, and punished for their expression of opposition to the government. This petition, essentially, represents each of them.”

Both Ortega and Fernandez are expected to attend the press conference, along with a number of elected officials. The Inter-American Center for Human Rights at Nova Southeastern University’s Shepard Broad Law Center is a response to the need in South Florida for an organization that is committed to furthering the civil and human rights of South Florida’s diverse communities and people.

The Inter-American Commission of Human Rights, based in Washington, D.C., is the principal human rights monitoring body in the Organization of American States. Petitions brought before the commission may ultimately be presented to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in San Jose, Costa Rica, which issues a legally binding decision.

Wednesday’s press conference will be held in the second floor Faculty Study room of NSU’s Shepard Broad Law Center, located on NSU’s main campus at 3301 College Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 33314. Media organizations interested in attending are encouraged to RSVP to NSU’s Mike Laderman at (954) 262-5354. For more information on the petitions and the Inter-American Center for Human Rights, contact NSU professor Charlene Smith at (954) 262-6241.