The human rights organizations that subscribe to this statement welcome the recent announcement by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, on the establishment of a field office of the International Criminal Court in Caracas that will work together with important international allies. However, we deem it necessary to emphasize some essential aspects in this regard:

The need for an effective office that can fulfill its mandate

We value the presence of the ICC in Venezuela through a field office and call for proper funding that allows it to have a real and significant impact. Likewise, we hope that this office is properly represented by a high-level staff, with expertise and knowledge of the situation on the ground. We welcome the announcements made on ensuring cooperation by the national authorities in the installation of the office, as well as granting entry into the country and free transit to its personnel. However, our organizations have noted with concern the limited budget and personnel of other ICC field offices in the past and warn about this possibility while urging all efforts to ensure an office that can work in a timely, safe, effective and independent manner.

The need for an office that works with all key actors

Although we recognize the intention of the Office of the Prosecutor to strengthen cooperation with other key international actors in the framework of its investigation in Venezuela, including the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), we also consider it essential that the establishment of work relationships and effective cooperation between the field office and other actors, such as the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (UN FFM), which has trustfully documented international crimes committed in Venezuela, as well as the current state of the national judiciary.

The need for an office that becomes a genuine and safe space for dialogue with the victims, their relatives, their representatives, and civil society

The interaction of the ICC Prosecutor’s Office with Venezuelan civil society and, above all, the victims, survivors, and their relatives and representatives, is a matter of enormous relevance. In this sense, we express our concern about the few spaces of interaction with civil society that have been opened by Prosecutor Khan in the framework of his two visits to Venezuela. We call on the field office to facilitate safe and transparent spaces for dialogue with victims and civil society in Venezuela, under adequate guarantees offered by the Government of no reprisals against those who approach and cooperate with the office. Likewise, we reiterate to the Office of the Prosecutor our firm interest in continuing a fluid dialogue in all possible interaction spaces, including The Hague.

Concerns regarding the work of the ICC with the Venezuelan Justice System

We express our deep concern about how the Office of the Prosecutor of the CPI visualizes its work with the current Venezuelan Justice System. According to previous communications, the Office seems to assume that the current Venezuelan Justice System will be able to conduct independent and genuine investigations of crimes against humanity and serious human rights violations committed in Venezuela.

As you are no doubt aware, and as the UN FFM has highlighted, the current Venezuelan Justice System is severely questioned, not only because its conformation fails to comply with the minimum standards for impartiality and independence, but also because it has been a key instrument in a policy of repression and impunity. In this sense, we need to mention the second report of the UN FFM dated September 16, 2021, which concluded that “judicial and prosecutorial actors also failed to prevent or fully address violations and crimes committed by other State actors against real or perceived opponents (…) These failures directly contributed to impunity for human rights violations and crimes and prevented victims of violations perpetuated by State security and intelligence bodies from accessing effective legal recourse and judicial remedies.” This Information was further corroborated by the OHCHR in its 2019 Annual Report in which it highlighted that “the lack of independence of the judiciary and corruption within the Justice system constitute major obstacles to the victims in their search for justice and reparation”, a concern that remains in more recent reports.

Therefore, although we value the mention made by the Office of the Prosecutor in the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Government of Nicolas Maduro on the recognition of the reforms to the judicial system that may take place in Venezuela, we consider it important that the Office of the Prosecutor incorporate to its mandate measures of positive complementarity to strengthen the capacity of judicial operators to investigate crimes against humanity. We also express our concern about the scarcity of guarantees in the current Venezuelan Justice system for genuine, effective and independent investigations. Therefore, we consider that, despite the current reforms advanced by the State, the Venezuelan Justice system lacks the capacity and willingness to carry out independent judicial processes for crimes against humanity and serious human rights violations.

We express our concern regarding the uncertainty in the course of the investigation

Regarding the guarantees for complementarity under the Rome Statute, including the measures provided for in articles 18 and 19, we are concerned about the lack of clarity in the course of the investigation in Venezuela, including the cases and the individual criminal responsibilities that will be investigated by the Office of the Prosecutor. The lack of clarity as to whether the ICC will proceed with its investigation is very unsettling. The wording used in a previous press release by Prosecutor Khan about the investigation not being a “one-way” road, requires further elaboration. Equally important is the disclosing of the conclusions and criteria that motivated the opening of an investigation by the Office of the Prosecutor.

The gender perspective in the investigation

Finally, we call on the Office of the Prosecutor to adopt a necessary gender perspective throughout the investigation, not only at the time of analyzing the crimes but also during its interaction with the victims and their relatives and representatives.

The monitoring of several international organs has shown that victims continue to face legal obstacles to access effective justice, especially women who experience specific gender-based barriers and are usually on the first line in the struggle for truth, justice and repair.

Caracas – Washington – Geneva, April 12, 2022.

Signatories:

Acceso a la Justicia

Alerta Venezuela

Amnesty International

Centro de Justicia y Paz (CEPAZ)

Centro por la Justicia y el Derecho Internacional (CEJIL)

Comité de Familiares de Víctimas de los Sucesos de Febrero y Marzo de 1989 (COFAVIC)

Fundación para el Debido Proceso (DPLF)

Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón (JEP)

Justicia y Proceso Venezuela (Juyproven)

Observatorio Venezolano de Prisiones (OVP)

The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA)

The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)

Programa Venezolano de Educación Acción en Derechos Humanos (Provea)

Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights

Vicaría de Derechos Humanos de la Arquidiócesis de Caracas

Women’s Link Worldwide

Translated by Jose Rafael Medina