- Bolivian Catholic Conference of Bishops challenges government’s forced closure of their teachers college.
- Facing a clear violation of religious and education freedoms, ADF International files challenge on behalf of bishops, before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
WASHINGTON, DC (11 June 2024) – ADF International has filed a case with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on behalf of the Bolivian Catholic Conference of Bishops against the Bolivian State for the forced closure of their teachers college.
The college, Instituto Normal Superior Católico Sedes Sapientiae (INSCSS), was forcibly closed by the state in 2010 to monopolize teacher training. At that time, the newly passed Education Act ordered the closure of the two existing teacher training schools operated by the Catholic and Adventist churches, in addition to barring the creation of any future private institutions offering degrees for educators.
“Both the Bolivian Constitution and international law protect the right to educational and religious freedom, including the right to create and operate educational institutions. Bolivian authorities have blatantly violated both of these rights by forcibly closing the Catholic teachers college,” said Tomás Henríquez, ADF International’s Director of Advocacy for Latin America, serving as one of the lead legal advisors to the Bishops’ Conference.
“It is our hope that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights will take this case and hold the Bolivian state accountable for these blatant human rights violations. Such overt violations of fundamental freedoms cannot be allowed to stand.”
ADF International filed the petition with the IACHR on behalf of the Bishops’ Conference after Constitutional Tribunal refused to take up a constitutional challenge on behalf of the Catholic Bishop’s by Centro de Estudios Jurídicos Tomás Moro, an ADF International allied organization.
“It is our hope that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights will take this case and hold the Bolivian state accountable for these blatant human rights violations. Such overt violations of fundamental freedoms cannot be allowed to stand.”
Background
By nationalizing the provision teacher training in Bolivia and decreeing the closure of the INSCSS, the Bolivian State is in violation of international human rights law, which is incorporated into its law by virtue of constitutional mandate.
Article 13.4 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) protects the “liberty of individuals and bodies to establish and direct educational institutions, subject … to the requirement that the education given in such institutions shall conform to such minimum standards as may be laid down by the State”. Bolivia’s legislation runs afoul of human rights law by establishing a blanket prohibition on the freedom of organizations and churches to establish and operate teachers colleges, and failing to establish the minimal requirements which would allow them to do so.
The INSCSS was created on February 23, 1956 at the request of Archbishop Abel Antezana of La Paz. The purpose of the college was (i) to train teachers for initial, primary, and secondary levels of education; (ii) to certify its graduates as teachers; and (iii) to process the registration of its graduates according to Bolivian national teaching standards.
The INSCSS has trained over 12,750 teachers, and has produced 125 educational texts, including 14 written in different indigenous languages to meet the needs of Bolivians. In addition, the INSCSS has received several distinctions from different mayors and governors for its contributions to culture, education, and development in Bolivia. Some notable distinctions include the highest Bolivian state distinction, the National Decoration of the Order of the Condor of the Andes, as well as decorations from the Plurinational Legislative Assembly of Bolivia for its outstanding work in teacher training.
In 2010, the Plurinational Legislative Assembly of Bolivia issued the Education Act under Law No. 070, also known as the “Avelino Siñani Law,” which nationalized teacher training. The law usurped the freedom of institutions to train teachers, giving the State exclusive competence over the matter. At the same time, it ordered the closure of private teacher training institutes. Subsequently, the INSCSS was closed.
Following the forced closure, the Bishops’ Conference filed a petition to reopen the teachers’ college with the Bolivian Ministry of Education, along with a constitutional challenge to the Education Act. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights will now have to decide in the next few months on the admissibility of the case and notify the State so that it responds to the claims leveled against it.
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