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Bolivia: More international support urged to bolster democracy
28 June 2024
GENEVA (28 June 2024) – Military leaders seeking to seize power and overturn the constitutional order should be condemned and this week’s apparent coup attempt in Bolivia was the latest example of an unacceptable trend, the UN Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order said today.
Condemning Wednesday’s attempted storming of the presidential palace as an alarming attack on democracy, George Katrougalos urged the international community to show robust commitment to supporting Bolivia’s democratic institutions.
“The region has paid a heavy price under military rule, characterised by flagrant human rights violations, rampant corruption, and authoritarian despotism. Such dark days must never return. Never again,” Katrougalos said.
He praised the widespread popular mobilisation against the attack. “The people of Bolivia have shown remarkable resilience and commitment to democracy, ensuring that the coup attempt did not succeed.”
The Independent Expert urged Bolivians to remain vigilant and mobilised in defence of democracy and their constitutional order. “I call upon the people of Bolivia to continue their defence of democracy and constitutional order, and I appeal for stronger international support,” he said.
In alignment with international law and in accordance with Article 1 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, Katrougalos said that “the peoples of the Americas have a right to democracy and their governments have an obligation to promote and defend it”.
*The expert: Mr. George Katrougalos is professor of public law at Democritus University of Thrace, former foreign minister of Greece. He is Vice-President of the International Association of Constitutional Law (IACL), with expertise on Human Rights, Comparative Constitutional Law, Democracy, Social Rights and Social Policy. Katrougalos completed his law degree in Athens Law Faculty and his Master’s degree and Ph.D. in Paris I, Pantheon Sorbonne. He has taught at many universities in Europe, USA and Asia. He has been Emil Noel Fellow and Senior Emile Noel at New York University (2007 and 2012) and visiting professor at Roskilde University (1994-1995), as a fellow of the Danish Academy of Science. He has practiced in international tribunals, advised governments and the Council of Europe and worked on institution building in many countries in Europe and Asia.
Special Rapporteurs, Independent Experts and Working Groups are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent of any government or organisation and serve in their individual capacity.
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