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Bolivia - Universal Periodic Review

UPR 34, November 5, 2019
Recommendations by Canada

Background

According to UPR Info, a non-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO) that tracks the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, in the first two cycles of the UPR, Bolivia received 315 recommendations, of which 299 were accepted (an acceptance rate of 95 percent). Canada’s previous recommendations to Bolivia related to the independence and effectiveness of the judiciary, access to justice, freedom of the press, child labour, violence against women, and the protection of women in Indigenous justice systems.

Since its last appearance, Bolivia has made significant strides in advancing social, economic and cultural rights. However, its judicial system continues to face structural problems and challenges related to technical capacity, which affect its ability to enforce and implement measures to protect the rights of the most vulnerable. Presidential decrees have enabled the President to reduce sentences and drop charges for minor crimes, but prison overcrowding remains a problem, with extensive use of arbitrary detention, combined with trial delays undermining the rights of defendants.

Women and children victims of violence are particularly negatively affected by high rates of impunity, with lack of adequate resources, delays and corruption hampering the government’s ability to fully implement the legal and constitutional provisions guaranteeing access to justice for victims. Since 2018, Bolivia has made efforts to address gender-based violence with the creation of new institutions (e.g. Plurinational Service for Women and Elimination of the Patriarchy) as well as inter-institutional and parliamentary committees. A key challenge will be ensuring adequate resource allocation for these mechanisms.

In 2018, Bolivia’s Constitutional Tribunal struck down certain provisions of the Child and Adolescent Code leading to an increase in the minimum working age from 10 to 14. Despite this progress, children continue to perform dangerous agricultural tasks—with Indigenous children particularly vulnerable to child labour.

The constitutionally recognized rights of Indigenous peoples, particularly with regards to the environment, are also being eroded by recent laws that permit the growth of extractive and agro-industrial activities in protected areas.

The rights of LGBTI persons, while officially protected by law, are often violated in practice, with high levels of discrimination and an increasing incidence of hate crimes.

Recommendations

Thank you, Mr. President

Canada thanks Bolivia for its presentation and commends its recent efforts to increase institutional resources towards preventing violence against women and holding perpetrators accountable.

With regard to the national election held by Bolivia on October 20, Canada welcomes the invitation of the Government of Bolivia to the Organization of American States electoral monitoring mission. In light of reports of electoral irregularities, Canada also welcomes the agreement with the OAS to conduct an electoral integrity analysis.

Canada recommends that the Government of Bolivia:

1. Take such measures as are appropriate to ensure that the will of the people is expressed in a free, fair and transparent electoral process, and properly reflected in its results.
2. Take steps ‎to reduce backlogs and increase the technical capacity of officials to advance access to justice for victims, as well as to continue with proposed reforms to modernize and improve the judicial system.
3. Provide the necessary financial resources to enable the sustainability and effectiveness of the Plurinational Service for Women and the Elimination of the Patriarchy and the Special Cabinet to Combat Violence against Women and Children.
4. Ensure systematic dialogue with Indigenous peoples, especially those residing in protected zones and in areas heavily affected by forest fires, to ensure their rights are protected.

Bolivia has an enviable record on the participation of women in politics and ranks third in the world for the highest level of women’s political representation in the legislature. However, despite the existence of rules against political harassment and violence against women, there has been an increase in such cases, with perpetrators often not being held to account. Canada urges the Government of Bolivia to ensure both awareness of relevant legislation, including the Anti-Harassment and Political Violence Against Women Act, and its full implementation.