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Councils

ROME COUNCIL - For a More Equal Global Society

20-21 January 2003


RESOLUTION ON VENEZUELA

Original: Spanish

The meeting of the Council of the Socialist International

Considering:

1. That the acute crisis through which Venezuela is passing in every part of its national life puts into grave jeopardy democracy, its institutions, its social and political equilibrium and its free existence;

2. That the growing militarisation of the country and acts of repression against democratic forces limit and severely damage peace as well as the human and social rights guaranteed by the Constitution, international law and agreements recognised by the Republic;

3. That despite initiatives to ease the situation and promote mediation such as those undertaken by the tripartite group made up of the UN Development Programme, the Carter Centre and the Organisation of American States, which is presided over by César Gaviria, the OAS Secretary General, and the peaceful, constitutional and democratic electoral initiatives proposed by the opposition in the so-called Forum for Negotiation and Agreement, the government has given no reply either to international moves nor to the initiatives of the democratic opposition for the attainment of a negotiated political solution of a peaceful and electoral nature;

4. That the establishment of a Group of Friends of Venezuela to facilitate an electoral, democratic and peaceful outcome, which is made up of Brazil, Chile, Spain, the United States of America, Mexico and Portugal, has been questioned by the Venezuelan government through the President and Vice President of the Republic;

5. That, if the Venezuelan crisis continues, it could upset the economic and political balance and the peace of the region.

Resolves:

1. To urge the Venezuelan government to respect the principle of separation of powers and the constitutional dispositions which guarantee the electoral processes inherent in democracy as well as the full exercise of human rights and political pluralism.

2. To support the search for electoral, democratic, peaceful and civic solutions as sought by the people of Venezuela manifested by the efforts of our member party Acción Democrática in conjunction with other social and political forces in Venezuela.

3. To support the sustained effort of the Venezuelan people in its search for peace through the clear preservation of democratic institutions and its opposition to any solution using force.

4. To support the action of the Secretary General of the OAS, César Gaviria, in the search for a democratic, peaceful, constitutional and electoral outcome in Venezuela in the context of the Forum for Negotiation and Agreement with the assistance of the Group of Friends of Venezuela, made up of Brazil, Chile, Spain, the United States of America, Mexico and Portugal.