NEW YORK (June 8, 2018) — This week, the Organization of American States (OAS) refrained from electing Nardi Suxo Iturry, a Bolivian former minister and political ally of Evo Morales, to serve as a judge on the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Before the vote on June 6, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) sent letters to all democratic governments in the Americas documenting Suxo’s dismal track record on human rights. As a result, OAS members refrained from electing Suxo, who played a fundamental role in eliminating judicial independence in Bolivia and in persecuting Morales' political opponents, and opted instead for Humberto Sierra Porto from Colombia, Eduardo Ferrer Mac-Gregor from Mexico, and Ricardo Pérez Manrique from Uruguay.
“The Inter-American Court of Human Rights is the highest judicial body tasked with protecting the fundamental rights of people in the Americas; therefore, it is essential that its members are truly committed to democracy and freedom,” said HRF President Thor Halvorssen. “Such important work cannot fall into the hands of an individual who is loyal to an authoritarian regime, who has pending corruption cases against her, and who has supported the unconstitutional reelection of Morales. HRF requested that OAS members refrain from voting for Ms. Suxo, and the results on Wednesday should be considered an important victory for the independence of the Court.”
Last week, HRF sent letters to each member state of the OAS, except for Cuba, Bolivia, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, which cannot be considered democracies under the principles of the Inter-American Democratic Charter. In the letters, signed by HRF Chairman Garry Kasparov and President Thor Halvorssen, HRF explained the role Suxo played in the Morales regime’s takeover of the judiciary in Bolivia and described how she used her role as Bolivia’s representative to the United Nations to consistently vote against any resolution that would condemn crimes against humanity committed by the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
Read HRF’s letter to OAS members here. A Spanish version is available here.
The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that promotes and protects human rights globally, with a focus on closed societies.
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