UN committee expresses concern over harassment of journalists in Bolivia

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The UN Human Rights Committee today expressed concern about cases of harassment and intimidation of human rights defenders and journalists in Bolivia, including arbitrary arrests while covering demonstrations between 2019 and 2021.

In its periodic report on the human rights situation in Bolivia, which examines events over the past five years, the Committee of Experts also expressed concern that defamation, slander, and libel remain criminalized, “posing a threat to freedom of expression.”

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The Committee has received allegations of excessive and disproportionate use of force, sometimes with deadly consequences, in the context of Bolivia’s post-election crisis in 2019, and calls for these incidents to be investigated “thoroughly, independently, and impartially” without delay.

It also expresses concern about the overcrowding of Bolivia’s prisons, which are 148% full, and the fact that nearly two-thirds of those deprived of their liberty are in pretrial detention.

The Committee notes that between 2013 and 2021, the Service for the Prevention of Torture registered more than 3,000 cases of torture and ill-treatment in the South American country, mainly perpetrated by police in prisons.

Although internal investigations have been opened against 70 police officers, the committee stresses that it has not been informed of the exact outcome of these investigations.

Bolivia, on the other hand, has “low conviction rates in cases of violence against women,” with at least 113 femicides committed since November 2020, according to the report released today.

The committee is concerned that the definition of the crimes of rape and statutory rape in Bolivian law is not aligned with international standards, which in practice means “impunity” in cases of sexual assault and child abuse.

On the other hand, the UN experts welcome the fact that in 2014 the Bolivian Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional the requirement of judicial authorization for abortion in cases of rape, incest or fornication.

In this regard, the Committee has received allegations from some 200 women who have been prosecuted for the crime of abortion after being reported by health personnel.

Finally, the Committee welcomes the establishment of a Truth Commission in 2016 and the preparation of its final report on the grave human rights violations committed between 1964 and 1982, but notes that 147 of the 1,714 recognized victims related to these events have not yet received compensation.

The remaining victims have received “only 20% of the amounts allocated,” the UN committee’s report states.