The victims and their relatives, society, human rights defenders and organizations need and demand the extension of the mandate of the International Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela to combat impunity and achieve truth, justice, reparation and establish guarantees for the non-repetition of human rights violations and crimes against humanity committed in Venezuela
Having a mechanism of the nature of the Mission is particularly essential for those who defend, demand and promote respect for human rights, not only to continue advancing in the search for and achievement of justice but also to promote instruments for protection and support in the face the constriction of the civic and democratic space in Venezuela, which has led to the deepening of a Policy of Criminalization, Repression and Social Control that has seriously affected the work of defenders and organizations, as they are considered “internal enemies” by the Venezuelan State.
Key actions of the International Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela
To understand the importance of the Mission in the fight against impunity for human rights violations in Venezuela, it is important to know its background and what the international mechanism has achieved to date.
Through resolution 42/25, the United Nations Human Rights Council established the Mission in 2019 with a one-year mandate “to investigate extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions and torture and other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment since 2014” and “to [ensure] full accountability for perpetrators and justice for victims.” It should be noted that the work of advocacy of Venezuelan human rights organizations and international allies was essential for the approval of this resolution at the Council.
After the presentation of its first report in September 2020 with detailed findings regarding the identification of the different patterns that encompass the police of repression, criminalization and social control in the country, the Council extended the mandate of the Mission for another two years, until September 2022, through resolution 45/20. The extension allowed the Mission to present a second report in 2021 on the role of the Justice System in Venezuela and how it “has played a significant role in the State’s repression of Government opponents.” A third report is expected to be submitted by September 26, 2022.
During the three years of work of the Mission, other important actions have been carried out in the fight against impunity in Venezuela, including the issuing of several statements, oral updates, a visit to the border with Venezuela, as well as interactive dialogues with the members of the Council, in order to report on the situation of human rights in the country.
These actions have been crucial for Venezuelan society. The systematic and qualified work of the Mission has shown the world the reality of human rights in Venezuela, in an essential step toward the achievement of truth, justice and reparation.
The Mission’s concern about the use of the “internal enemy” logic against human rights organizations and defenders
The Mission’s investigations and conclusions on different aspects of the situation have been essential for the victims and their processes of seeking justice. In particular, the constriction of civic and democratic space has resulted in the inexistence of an adequate and safe climate for the exercise of the rights to assembly, association, demonstration, expression and defense of human rights in Venezuela.
In recent years, the deepening of criminalization and repression of the human rights movement in the country under the logic of the internal enemy has become evident. The Center for Defenders and Justice (CDJ for its acronym in Spanish) has denounced that these events constitute a State policy, the result of which is reflected in the increase in attacks and aggressions against human rights defenders, with 1,445 documented aggressions between 2019 and July 2022, according to organization records.
The Mission’s investigation and its findings have been able to define different patterns of repression and how these patterns have affected civil society in Venezuela. In March 2021, Ms. Marta Valiñas, chair of the international mission, told the Human Rights Council that “[t]he State’s concept of the “internal enemy” appears to be increasingly broad. The Fact-Finding Mission is concerned about what appears to be a growing trend: the targeting of individuals and non-governmental organizations engaged in humanitarian and human rights work.”
Although the Mission and different international bodies have warned of and rejected the criminalization of human rights defenders and organizations, the Venezuelan State has continued to hinder their work through patterns of stigmatization, intimidation, harassment, threats, and arbitrary detentions, among others. The human rights movement has also been the target of reprisals for exercising the right to international cooperation with international agencies and organizations, including the Mission, and for receiving resources from abroad.
Why does the extension of the mission matter to human rights organizations?
The human rights crisis and the complex humanitarian emergency in Venezuela have not ceased. Criminalization, repression and social control as State policy continue to worsen, and this context is increasingly hostile and restrictive for the defense, demand for and promotion of human rights, generating a series of risks for those in the front line of documenting, denouncing, making visible and demanding respect for human rights and the protection of dignity.
The continuation of the aggressions against civil society in the context of the narrowing of the civic and democratic space in Venezuela remains a source of concern given the adverse circumstances that surround and condition the space in which those who defend, promote and demand rights in the country operate.
The obstacles, aggressions and reprisals derived from the policy of criminalization of human rights organizations and defenders pose major challenges for the victims and their processes of seeking justice and the recognition of their rights. The attacks on the human rights movement have a direct impact and also result in the violation of the rights of the victims because they put them in a situation of greater vulnerability before the actions and omissions of the State and make it difficult to fight impunity in the face of human rights violations.
As long as the Venezuelan State continues to aim at curtailing civic space and criminalizing the work of organizations in the country, including actions within the framework of international cooperation, it is essential to count on external mechanisms that ensure the protection, defense and guarantee of human rights, including the rights of organizations and civil society in Venezuela. The role of the International Independent Fact-Finding Mission is of great importance to advance the achievement of truth, justice and reparation for human rights violations, contribute to the protection of human rights organizations and defenders, and strengthen the civic and democratic space in the country.
Translated by José Rafael Medina
