Caracas' representative: OAS' human rights body is biased against Venezuela

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) is biased against Venezuela, said on Wednesday Germán Saltrón, the Venezuelan State representative for human rights. He claimed that the OAS body endorsed the coup of April 2002 against the legitimate government of Hugo Chávez.

In an interview with state-run TV channel Venezolana de Televisión, Saltrón claimed that the IACHR is not a real advocate of people's human rights.

"A Commission that supports a dictatorship is not an organization that defends human rights," he said.

He recalled that since Hugo Chávez became president of Venezuela and the proposals to draft the Bolivarian Constitution were made known, the agencies attached to the Organization of American States have sought to discredit Venezuelan policies, reported state-run news agency AVN.

On Monday, President Hugo Chávez announced that Venezuela would withdraw from the IACHR -a body he described as a tool the US empire has used to interfere in Venezuelan internal affairs. Saltrón said Chávez's move was an act of sovereignty.

"(Venezuela) is a democratic country and no one can come here to claim the moral high ground on human rights," said Saltrón, who added that Venezuela's withdrawal from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights may take one year.

He insisted that such regional organizations will continue trying to ignite tension and destabilization in Venezuela, as part of their agenda ahead of the presidential vote to be held on October 7.

"They will find ways to subvert order and repeat the events of April 11, 2002," he said.