, 11 September 2010 (UTC)
The opening section of the chapter reads: "During the Chavez presidency, rights advocates have faced prosecutorial harassment, unsubstantiated allegations aimed at discrediting their work, and efforts to exclude them from international forums and restrict their access to international funding."  It goes on to say "...rather than engage constructively with NGOs that document abuses and advocate reform to the prison system, the authorities have harassed, intimidated, and marginalized them from policy discussions."

"In ONE NOTABLE EXCEPTION the government incorporated civil society experts in a commission set up to analyze and make proposals to reform Venezuela's police...For the first time...the government identified and prioritized accountability for police abuse as a major issue, though it did not ultimately adopt all of the commissions recommendations.  UNFORTUNATELY, THE COMMISSION ON POLICE REFORM IS THE EXCEPTION THAT PROVES THE RULE.  The government most often has sought to discredit and sideline human rights advocates and organizations."

Context is everything.  And, if there is any question about whether what I have posted is in context, I urge you to go back and read the entire section.  (The parts I quoted are from pages 198-199 of the report.)  00:39