UN HRC Letters combined regarding Venezuelan diplomat Saab
HAUT-COMMISSARIAT AUX DROITS DE L’HOMME • OFFICE OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS PALAIS DES NATIONS • 1211 GENEVA 10, SWITZERLAND
www.ohchr.org • TEL: +41 22 917 9895 • FAX: +41 22 917 9008 • E-MAIL: petitions@ohchr.org
REFERENCE: G/SO 215/51 CPV (1)
MT/MKL/ma 3953/2021
HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE
PROCEDURE OF INDIVIDUAL COMMUNICATIONS UNDER THE OPTIONAL PROTOCOL
8 June 2021
Dear Sir,
We have the honour to inform you that your communication dated 7 June 2021, which you submitted to the Human Rights Committee for consideration under the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on behalf of Mr. Alex Nain Saab Moran, has been registered as communication No. 3953/2021. You are kindly asked to refer to this registration number in any future correspondence. You are also invited to direct any future correspondence to the Petitions and Urgent Actions Section of the Human Rights Treaty Bodies Branch of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, through the following e-mail address: petitions@ohchr.org.
Interim Measures
Pursuant to rule 94 of the Committee’s rules of procedure, the State party has been requested to refrain from extraditing Mr. Alex Nain Saab Moran to the United States of America while his case is under consideration by the Committee or until further notice. The State party has been further requested to take all necessary measures to ensure access to appropriate health care for the author, preferably by independent and specialized physicians of his choice. This request is made on the basis of the information contained in the author’s submission. The Committee may review its decision on the basis of the information provided by the State party and the author.
Registration of the case
In accordance with rule 92 of the Committee’s rules of procedure, a copy of the communication has been transmitted to the State party today, with the request that any information or observations in respect of both the question of admissibility and the merits of your communication should reach the Committee no later than 8 February 2022. Any reply from the State party will be communicated to you in due course to enable you to comment thereon, if you so wish. Please note that all deadlines for observations have been extended by 2 months in light of the spread of COVID-19. The State party has therefore been granted an exceptional deadline of eight months.
Confidentiality
HAUT-COMMISSARIAT AUX DROITS DE L’HOMME • OFFICE OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS PALAIS DES NATIONS • 1211 GENEVA 10, SWITZERLAND
www.ohchr.org • TEL: +41 22 917 9895 • FAX: +41 22 917 9008 • E-MAIL: petitions@ohchr.org
Please be aware that final decisions adopted by the Human Rights Committee are made public. Therefore, if the author wishes for his identity to not be disclosed in the final decision, you are kindly requested to so indicate as soon as possible. Kindly note that, due to the level of publicity the Committee’s decisions usually receive (including dissemination via Internet, which thus makes the correction and/or deletion of data circulating online virtually impossible), it may not be possible to satisfy requests for anonymity submitted after the publication of the Committee’s decision. The Committee shall not be responsible to the author in any manner for any inconvenience, arising out of their failure to notify the Committee in a timely manner about his decision not to have his name disclosed to the public at large.
For information, please find herewith a copy of the Committee’s rules of procedure. Yours sincerely,
Helene Tigroudja Arif Bulkan
Human Rights Committee Special Rapporteurs
on New Communications and Interim Measures
Mr. Jose Manuel Pinto Monteiro
E-mail: zmpmgt@gmail.com
Irina.acampora@amadeus.london
HAUT-COMMISSARIAT AUX DROITS DE L’HOMME • OFFICE OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS PALAIS DES NATIONS • 1211 GENEVA 10, SWITZERLAND
www.ohchr.org • TEL: +41 22 917 9895 • FAX: +41 22 917 9008 • E-MAIL: petitions@ohchr.org
REFERENCE: G/SO 215/51 CPV (1)
MT/MKL/ma 3953/2021
16 June 2021
Dear Sir,
This is to acknowledge receipt of your further submission dated 15 June 2021 concerning complaint No. 3953/2021, which was submitted to the Human Rights Committee, for consideration under the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, on behalf of Alex Nain Saab Moran.
In the light of the information before it concerning the alleged deterioration of the author’s health, the Committee has reminded the State party of its request for interim measures of 8 June 2021, in particular whereby the State party has been asked to take all necessary measures to ensure access to appropriate health care for the author, preferably by independent and specialized physicians of his choice.
Yours sincerely
Ibrahim Salama
Chief, Human Rights Treaties Branch
Mr. Jose Manuel Pinto Monteiro
E-mail: zmpmgt@gmail.com
Irina.acampora@amadeus.london
June 17, 2021
PERMANENT MISSION OF THE REPUBLIC OF CAPE VERDE TO THE UNITED NATIONS
27 East 69th Street, New York, N.Y. 10021
(212) 472-0333
(212) 794-1398
Email: capeverde@un.int
Re: Respect for the interim measures ordered by the United Nations Human Rights Committee for Cape Verde N°3953/2021
Extradition of Alex Saab
Dear Sir or Madam
We are writing to you urge you to respect the attached order N°3953/2021 of the Human Rights Committee
Cabo Verde is a member State of the United Nations, it has been a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights since August 6, 1993 and to the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights since May 19, 2000. That implies that Cabo Verde must respect its international obligations regarding the human rights protected by this treaty and comply with the orders and decisions of the expert body in charge of the supervision of the treaty, which is the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations.
Under rule 92 of its rules of procedure, the Committee may, after receipt of a communication and before adopting its Views, request a State party to take interim measures in order to avoid irreparable damage to the victim of the alleged violations. The Committee continues to apply this rule on appropriate occasions, for instance in cases of imminent deportation or extradition which may involve or expose the author to a real risk of violation of rights protected under the Covenant, or when issues concerning the health of the alleged victim are at stake.
Interim measures are usually implemented
While in the majority of cases where the Committee requested the States parties concerned to take interim measures such requests were granted and complied with, there were some instances in which this was not done. When a State refuses to comply the Committee recalled its jurisprudence that a State party commits serious breaches of its obligations under the Optional Protocol if its action or inaction serves to prevent or frustrate consideration by the Committee of a communication alleging a violation of the Covenant, or to render examination by the
Committee moot and the expression of its Views nugatory and futile. Interim measures pursuant to rule 92 of its rules of procedure, adopted in conformity with article 39 of the Covenant, are essential to the Committee’s role under the Optional Protocol. Flouting of the rule, especially by irreversible measures such as, in the present case, the author’s extradition, undermines the protection of Covenant rights through the Optional Protocol. In the Committee’s view, these circumstances disclose a breach by the State party of its obligations under article 1 of the Optional Protocol.
Among the few states that have not complied with the interim measures of the Human Rights Committee is Belarus [No. 2017/2010, Burdyko v. Belarus].
Consequences of refusal by Cape Verde
The United Nations Human Rights Committee calls on Cape Verde to ‘refrain from extraditing Mr. Alex Saab to the United States of America” and to “take all necessary measures to ensure access to appropriate health care […] by independent and specialized physicians of his choice”. Such measures are truly clear and require that the State of Cabo Verde implements them as such. The suspension of extradition is clear and the access to independent and specialized physicians of his choice are measures extremely clear as well.
The refusal by Cape Verde to comply with its international obligations would have serious, structural, and long-lasting diplomatic, economic, political, and legal consequences for Cape Verde. By refusing or ignoring the interim measures, Cape Verde would be following the path of Belarus and confirming its desire to definitively renounce adherence to human rights and the rule of law.
We urge Cape Verde to respect this order to refrain from extraditing Mr. Alex Nain Saab Moran to the United States of America while his case is under consideration by the Committee as well as ensuring access to appropriate health care according to the 8 June 2021 Decision.
Sincerely,
- Alfred de Zayas, UN expert on promotion of democratic & equitable international order – Switzerland
- Alfred Marder, U.S. Peace Council – United States
- American Association of Jurists, Vanessa Ramos, president, (signed a similar letter) ● Ben Norton, journalist – United States
- Carmen Buitrago – Venezuela
- Claudia Chaufan, York University – Canada
- Cruz Gómez – Venezuela
- Dan Kovalik, attorney and author – United States
- Darwin Alejandro Suarez Porras – Venezuela
- Elane Spivak-Rodriguez, Alliance for Global Justice – United States
- Fr. Luis Barrios, Ph.D., Clinical Psychology, Carlos Albizu University ● Francisco Rodríguez, Clap Las Palmad – Venezuela
- Frederick Mills, Professor, Bowie State University
- Gertrudis Martinez, UBCH José Gregorio Guitian – Venezuela
- International Committee for Peace, Justice and Dignity, Alicia Jrapko – United States ● Jesus Rodriguez-Espinoza, Orinoco Tribune – Venezuela
- John Philpot, International Lawyer – Canada
- Jose Pertierra, attorney – United States
- Juan Villegas – Venezuela
- Just Peace Advocates, Karen Rodman – Canada
- Just Peace Advocates/Mouvement Pour Une Paix Juste
- Kelly Pottella, Consejo Comunal José María Vargas – Venezuela
- Ken Stone, Hamilton Coalition to Stop War – Canada
- Luci Murphy, ONE DC Black Workers Center Chorus* – United States ● Luigino Bracci – Venezuela
- Mario Silva, La Hojilla – Venezuela
- Mark Burton, U.S. Peace Council – United States
- Max Blumenthal, The Grayzone Project* – United States
- Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK* – United States
- Nancy Price, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, US* – United States ● Nino Pagliccia, Vancouver Frente Hugo Chávez – Canada
- Noam Chomsky – United States
- Oliver Stone, film maker, 4 time of the Oscar winner
- Pablo Emilio Victora, COSOLPA – Venezuela
- Prabir Purkayastha, Editor, Newsclick* – United States
- Radhamés Morales, Fuerza de la Revolución and Ministerio de Solidaridad con los Pueblos, Iglesia Santa Cruz-Holyrood
- Rev. Filipe Cupertino Teixeira OFSJC, Diocese Saint Francis of Assisi CCA – United States
- Rick Sterling, Task Force on the Americas – United States
- Roger Harris, Task Force on the Americas – United States
- Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
- Sara Flounders, International Action Center – United States
- Silverio Carvajal, LIBRE* – Venezuela
- Stansfield Smith, Chicago ALBA Solidarity – United States
- Stevan Kirschbaum, United Steelworkers Local 8751, Boston School Bus Union – United States
- Steve Ellner, Writer – United States
- Suzanne Ross, International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal – United States
- Tibisay Diaz – Venezuela
- U.S. Peace Council, Bahman Azad – United States
- Ulises Rafael Gutierrez Licerio, MEP* – Venezuela
- United Natl Antiwar Coalition, Joe Lombardo – United States
- Veterans for Peace, Gerry Condon, former president – United States
- Vijay Prashad, Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research* – India
- William Camacaro, Bolivarian Circle NYC. Alex Saab Defense – United States
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