Rafael Uzcátegui, director of the humanitarian organization Provea, estimates that the recent measure taken by the Government of Nicolás Maduro to regulate the activities of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) would expose the beneficiaries of these institutions or the victims of human rights violations to persecution.
“It would be putting their names in the hands of the perpetrators,” claimed Uzcátegui during an interview with the director of news site Efecto Cocuyo, Luz Mely Reyes.
The activist emphasized that the Venezuelan Program of Education-Action in Human Rights (Provea) has manifestly rejected administrative order 001-2021 for the Unified Registry of Obliged Subjects before the National Office Against Organized Crime and Terrorism Financing, which they will have to comply with before May 1.
This legal instrument, he explained, will force NGOs “to reveal personal information” of the people who receive, for example, humanitarian or legal support, “which risks endangering their lives, integrity, security, freedom, and livelihoods in the current Venezuelan context.”
Uzcátegui deemed it unacceptable for NGOs to participate in such a registry since it resembles situations that occurred in other countries of the region, such as Nicaragua, where a controversial Regulation on Foreign Agents entered into force in 2020 seeking to control external financing to natural and legal persons by the government of Daniel Ortega.
“We are going to adhere to the principles of the NGOs working in the field of human rights of not providing information that could expose the victims of violence,” he said.
He said that for now, the government’s strategy will be to delay this decision and simulate “cooperation” with human rights defenders, but all NGOs will remain vigilant to prevent this bill from materializing.
“One of the objectives of this registry is to control and divide the NGOs, but they also want to generate mistrust on the part of the victims and finally wear us down,” he added.
During his intervention in a broadcast on Efecto Cocuyo’s social media, Uzcátegui mentioned that there are still many expectations that the International Criminal Court will decide to open an investigation into the human rights situation in Venezuela.
“We are optimistic that a formal investigation will be opened against any official who systematically violates human rights,” he said.
Uzcatégui also mentioned his satisfaction with the approval of the World Food Program (WFP) operations in the country, as this denotes that in some way the State assumes its shortcomings on this issue.
“Allowing the World Food Program to enter the country shows the government’s recognition of its incapacity to guarantee people’s food security,” he concluded.
Watch the full interview in Spanish below.
Translated by José Rafael Medina
