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Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
Latin America & Caribbean
22 March 2024
News


HRC55: OHCHR REMAINS SUSPENDED AS REPRESSION IN VENEZUELA INCREASES

In the context of increased repression in Venezuela, UN officials, experts and
States call for the respect for human rights defenders, the release of those
arbitrarily detained, fair elections and the unconditional return of the Office
of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

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This week there have been two interactive dialogues on Venezuela at the Human
Rights Council: with the Deputy High Commissioner on 19 March, and with the
members of the fact-finding mission (FFM) on 20 March. These took place in the
context of the suspension of OHCHR activities in Venezuela when, on 15 February,
the Venezuelan government gave the 13 members of the team 72 hours to leave the
country.

Deputy High Commissioner Nada Al-Nashif expressed her ‘deep regret’ for the
suspension of OHCHR activities and the wish that the Office could ‘soon be able
to fully resume its work to serve people in the Bolivarian Republic of
Venezuela…in strict compliance with the mandate of the Office’. There was no
reference to engagement with the Venezuelan authorities as in an earlier
communication from the Office. She spoke of positive changes that had been
experienced with the Office within the country and that much remains to be done.
For his part, the new Venezuelan Ambassador to the UN chose to call the Office
‘a neo-colonial law firm at the service of the US and its satellites’.

‘The OHCHR continues to push for a comeback but needs to be clear about its red
lines,’ said Eleanor Openshaw of ISHR. ‘It is essential that it does not
compromise on being able to fulfill a full mandate that includes documenting
violations, reporting and working with civil society in the country.’

In its statement during the session, ISHR referred to the suspension of the
Office fitting a pattern of increasing repression in the country.

This upsurge of repression in the country was the focus of the FFM Chair’s oral
update. Marta Valiñas commented that ‘we are facing a phase of reactivation of
the most violent modality of repression by the authorities’ and that modality
‘is activated to silence the voices of the opposition at any cost, including
through the commission of crimes’.

The FFM, the Deputy High Commissioner, and several States highlighted the
increase in cases of intimidation, stigmatisation, and even detention of
opposition parties, journalists, defenders and other dissenting voices – real or
perceived, to the Maduro regime.  Following the Human Rights Council session,
Uruguay issued an appeal to Venezuela to release political prisoners. The cases
of Javier Tarazona and Rocio San Miguel were on the lips of many during the
session and the draft NGO bill was discussed as an example of a prevailing
attempt to restrict the free and independent action of civil society.

Many countries in the room expressed their concern about the facts and,
recognising the complementarity of the work done by both mandates, urged
Venezuela to resume cooperation with the UN agencies.

To countries that spoke of Venezuela’s cooperation with the system, including
Brazil, FFM member Francisco Cox said, ‘I don’t know how you cooperate with
OHCHR by expelling it’.

The ambassador of Paraguay, in the interactive dialogue with the High
Commissioner, responded to accusations of selectivity in the establishment of UN
mechanisms in the case of Venezuela, asking: ‘What shows more selectivity than
Venezuela’s choice not to cooperate with OHCHR, the FFM or the vast majority of
independent experts?’

While several States of the region intervened through joint statements
(Paraguay, Canada, Chile, Argentina, Guatemala, Ecuador;  Luxembourg, Belgium,
the Netherlands; and all the core group States in another) or individually, the
voices of Mexico and Colombia were missing in the space. Honduras spoke of UN
mechanisms in Venezuela as an example of interference.

The dialogues ended with a recognition that in a pre-electoral context the risks
for voices opposed to the State increase. In fact, the day after the dialogues
concluded, Venezuelan security forces detained two more members of the
opposition within presidential candidate Maria Corina Machado’s team.


FILED UNDER


TOPIC

 * Freedom of expression, association & assembly


REGION

 * Latin America & Caribbean
 * 


COUNTRY

 * Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
 * 


MECHANISM

 * Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
 * UN Human Rights Council


PROGRAMMES

 * International accountability


RELATED ARTICLES

 * Reprisals
 * Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)


VENEZUELA: REPRESSION MUST STOP AND THE WILL OF PEOPLE MUST BE RESPECTED

13 December 2024

Stolen Presidential elections, the use of deeply repressive tactics by State
agents against real and perceived opponents, and the recent return of OHCHR to
Caracas informed today’s dialogue on Venezuela between the High Commissioner for
Human Rights and the Human Rights Council.

 * Freedom of expression, association & assembly


DECLARATION + 25: NEW VIDEO AVAILABLE!

10 December 2024

The Secretariat of the Declaration +25 marked the International Human Rights
Defenders' Day on 9 December 2024 by launching a new video. 

 * Freedom of expression, association & assembly
 * Egypt


EGYPT: LIFT PUNITIVE MEASURES AGAINST EIPR STAFF

05 December 2024

NGOs call upon States to make recommendations to Egypt in upcoming Universal
Periodic Review on the lifting of all travel bans, asset freezes and other
punitive measures against human rights defenders, including EIPR’s staff
members, and to end the targeting of human rights defenders and organisations
solely for their legitimate work.

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