Bolivia: UN human rights office condemns killing of vice minister and three miners

30 August 2016 - The United Nations human rights office today spoke out against the killing of a government minister by a group of striking miners last Thursday, as well as deadly clashes between police and people opposed to a new mining law.

"We condemn the brutal murder last Thursday of the Vice Minister of Interior and Police, Rodolfo Illanes, as well as violent clashes between demonstrators opposing a new mining law and police forces, which have left three miners dead and hundreds of people, including police officers and journalists," Rupert Colville, a spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), told reporters in Geneva.

According to OHCHR, Mr. Illanes was reportedly beaten to death, and his security officer badly injured, by a group of striking miners in Panduro, some 160 kilometres south of the Bolivian capital, La Paz, while on his way to negotiate a peaceful resolution to a road blockade staged by miners.

Noting that six people are currently detained in connection with this murder, the UN human rights office urges the authorities to ensure that a full and objective investigation into the deaths of Mr. Illanes and the three miners is carried out in line with Bolivia's international human rights obligations, the spokesperson said.

"We call on all sides to engage in an immediate, genuine and constructive dialogue and to refrain from resorting to violence," he added.