VZCZCXRO9205
PP RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHSM #0214/01 0470826
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 160826Z FEB 06
FM AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9792
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 0243
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 0043
RUEHGT/AMEMBASSY GUATEMALA 0034
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0141

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 STOCKHOLM 000214 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR IO/BHARRIS AND WHA/PPC/RYONEOKA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/14/2016 
TAGS: PREL KPAL EUN KDEM VE SW
SUBJECT: SWEDEN'S 2005 REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN VENEZUELA 
AND GUATEMALA 
 
REF: A. STOCKHOLM 189 
     ¶B. STATE 20173 
 
Classified By: Charge Stephen V. Noble, reason 1.4 (B) & (D) 
 
¶1. (C)  We reported via reftel (A) Sweden's preliminary 
response to our demarche on defeating Venezuela in the 2006 
election for a seat on the UNSC.  Sweden has not reached a 
decision on which candidate country to support, and has left 
the door open to a Venezuelan seat, depending in part on 
Chavez' behaviour between now and the election.  Sweden's 
decision on which country to support for the UNSC seat will 
also be colored by their views on Guatemala's human rights 
trends. 
 
¶2.  (U)  On February 3 Sweden's Ministry for Foreign Affairs 
published its annual human rights report for Venezuela.  Post 
transmits below an unofficial English translation of the 
executive summary of the report, which is published only in 
Swedish.  For comparative purposes, we also attach a copy of 
the Guatemala report.  The Swedish human rights reports can 
be accessed on-line at: 
http://www.manskligarattigheter.gov.se 
 
¶3.  (U)  Begin text of executive summary of Sweden's Report 
on Human Rights in Venezuela 2005: 
 
Venezuela has been dominated for the past year by a strong 
polarization within its society between President Hugo 
Chavez, his party and the government on the one side and the 
opposition parties, mass media, business community and a 
large part of the labor movement on the other. 
 
The heightened tensions within the country involve risks for 
human rights.  President Chavez is seen by many to  have 
contributed to this polarization by his exercise of  power. 
The constitution has been altered so that the  parliamentary 
decisions can now be made by a simple majority.  This entails 
that the government, which has a small majority in the 
parliament, can now force through its policies without the 
involvement of the opposition.  A gradual and worrying 
degradation of the rights that  guarantee democracy and the 
political freedoms has  occurred recently. 
 
The military in the country has a disproportional amount  of 
power and continues to play an ever growing role in  civilian 
affairs.  Retired and active military personnel  are placed 
in high government positions.  Security forces  and the 
police are often involved in civilian matters and  have 
committed a number of serious violations of human  rights 
during the year.  Many independent organizations  state that 
the development of so-called "para-police" within the police 
force is a growing problem. 
 
The worsening of human rights in Venezuela is occurring 
despite the fact that formal protections are good.  During 
the deliberations for the new constitution, which went into 
effect in December of 1999, a number of the country's 
independent organizations took part and were pleased with the 
result.  Many of these organizations now look on with concern 
at the gradual degradation of legislation that guarantees 
human rights.  The government has been responsible for 
publicly maligning individual organizations, the church, the 
courts and the media. 
 
Abuses and ineffectiveness in the judicial system continued 
during 2005.  The justice system suffers from corruption and 
was under enormous pressure from a number of outside forces, 
not least from executive president power.  Prison conditions 
are very poor.  The high crime rate in the large cities, in 
particular Caracas where a third of the population lives, 
continues to be a large problem. 
 
Representatives for the Venezuelan authorities have publicly 
distanced themselves from the Inter-American Commission on 
Human Rights and say that it does not act in accordance with 
the sovereignty principle.  The Venezuelan government does 
not recognize the preventive measures and recommendations 
that the Commission has issued. 
 
The proximity to Columbia entails that Venezuela is affected 
in various ways by the internal armed conflict there and 
relations between the countries are tense.  There is a 2,200 
kilometer border that is mostly un-monitored on both sides 
despite an increase in military presence by both countries in 
the area during the past year.  The FARC and ELN guerrillas, 
 
STOCKHOLM 00000214  002 OF 003 
 
 
as well as paramilitary forces in Colombia, exploit this 
porous border.  There are strong indications that primarily 
the FARC hold a number of their kidnapped Colombians on 
Venezuelan soil. 
 
The deficiencies concerning human rights remain, and the 
aforementioned political polarization may well cause a 
further deterioration of the situation. 
 
End Text of Summary. 
 
¶4.  (U)  Section 19 of Sweden's 2005 HRR on Venezuela 
includes the following observations on Venezuelan government 
treatment of organizations that have contact with the United 
States: 
 
Begin excerpt: 
 
There is a tendency that organizations that have the support, 
or other contact, with the United States, are discredited by 
the government.  A number of representatives for national 
organizations that have received financial support from, 
among others, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), 
have been the subject of legal proceedings, accused of high 
treason. 
 
End Excerpt. 
 
¶5.  (U)  Begin text of executive summary of Sweden's Report 
on Human Rights in Guatemala in 2005: 
 
The situation concerning human rights in Guatemala is still 
worrying.  There are no occurrences of systematic state 
sanctioned violations of human rights, but the repercussions 
of the 36-year internal armed conflict have generated a 
particularly violent and insecure society.  The state's 
inability to combat and take legal measures against the 
escalating crime is becoming more obvious.  Armed assaults on 
the street and on buses are part of everyday life in 
Guatemala.  Human rights violations by the police are 
increasing and include murder, torture, kidnappings, social 
cleansing actions and physical abuse.  Attacks and threats 
against human rights activists, judges, prosecutors and 
journalists continue.  Wide-spread immunity from punishment 
and corruption is a deep, continuing problem.  After the end 
of the UN peace mission to Guatemala, MINGUA, and prior to 
the UNHCHR arriving, there was a lessening of pressure to 
follow the peace agreement and the drafting of legislation 
was affected negatively.  The government has responded with a 
heavy-hand towards protest actions during the past year. 
 
An increasing number of human rights crimes have been 
conducted by unclear alliances of civil servants, 
businessmen, ordinary criminals, members of youth gangs and 
members of the police, military and private security forces. 
The Qistence of parallel power structures and their 
influence in the government apparatus undermines the 
government's attempts to come to terms with human rights 
problems.  The initiative to establish an international 
investigation commission to map the phenomenon has been 
temporarily halted by the constitutional court. 
 
The economic and social rights situation, and the rights of 
indigenous tribes, has worsened during the past year, and the 
state's minimal resources are not sufficient to alter this 
recent trend.  Extreme poverty is increasing; violence 
against women and the chronic under-nourishment of children 
is increasing; access to health care and education is still 
low.  Powerful floods during the year exposed the economic 
vulnerability of the poor and their precarious living 
situation.  The rights of indigenous peoples is the part of 
the peace agreement that has been implemented the least. 
Positive aspects are the adoption of legislation concerning 
discrimination and an emphasis on women's rights.  There are 
still serious concerns regarding the rights of children, but 
the parliament's recent adoption of legislation in this area 
gives some hope. 
 
The government has assumed the political responsibility for 
seeing through the peace agreement, and during the past year 
a legal framework for implementation, which will be led by a 
national council with participation by elements of civil 
society, has been adopted.  It is also positive that the 
country has accepted an international presence by the UN High 
Commission for Human Rights; that the youth gang problem has 
not been met with repressive legislation; and that the 
 
STOCKHOLM 00000214  003 OF 003 
 
 
president has expressed his desire to abolish the death 
penalty. 
 
End Text of Summary. 
 
NOBLE