Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela

Last updated

The International Independent Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is an observation body established in 2019 to study the human rights situation under the Bolivarian Revolution.

Contents

Creation

The Mission's mandate was created on 27 September 2019 by United Nations Human Rights Council Resolution 42/25 to assess human rights violations since 2014: including persecution of opposition groups, immigration, food crisis, state sexism towards Venezuelan women and girls, among others; since the beginning of the first government of Nicolás Maduro of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela. [1] The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights led by Michelle Bachelet reported the following in its 2019 report:

The report, which was prepared at the request of the UN Human Rights Council, states that over the past decade - and especially since 2016 - the Venezuelan government and its institutions have implemented a strategy "aimed at neutralising, repressing and criminalising the political opposition and those who criticise the government". A set of laws, policies and practices that has reduced the democratic sphere, dismantled the system of institutional control over the executive branch and allowed the reiteration of serious human rights violations. The document highlights the impact of the deep economic crisis, which has deprived the population of the means to satisfy their fundamental rights to food and medical care, among others.

— Report of the United Nations Human Rights Office on Venezuela urges immediate steps to stop and remedy grave rights violations [2] .

In the context of the presidential crisis of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó expressed that «the Report of the UN puts to Maduro to level of the atrocious crimes committed by [Muammar] Gaddafi», whereas Maduro disqualified the report «for being plagued of falsities». [3] [4]

Structure

The mission is hierarchical among the members of the United Nations:

The mission does not operate in the country since the Maduro government has refused to it.

The only reason we have not conducted on-site research activities in Venezuela was because the Government of Venezuela did not want us to and did not allow us to do so. I have sent six communications to the Venezuelan government between January and September this year and have not received any response. In these communications I requested not only a visit to the country, but also meetings with authorities inside or outside the country. I also requested official data and information on the cases we were investigating. We also offered to send our report to the government for their comments before publishing it. I received no response. We deeply regret that this was the route chosen by the government.

— Address by Marta Valiñas, Chairperson of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, to the 45th session of the Human Rights Council. [5]

Reports

On 17 September 2020 the International Mission published a report describing extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, torture and cruel treatment committed in Venezuela since 2014. On 5 October, the UN Human Rights Council approved a resolution extending the Mission's mandate for two more years. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bolivarian National Intelligence Service</span> Secret police force of Venezuela

The Bolivarian National Intelligence Service is the premier intelligence agency in Venezuela. SEBIN is an internal security force subordinate to the Vice President of Venezuela since 2012 and is dependent on Vice President Delcy Rodríguez. SEBIN has been described as the political police force of the Bolivarian government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicolás Maduro</span> President of Venezuela since 2013

Nicolás Maduro Moros is a Venezuelan politician and the 53rd president of Venezuela since 2013. Previously, he was the 24th vice president of Venezuela from 2012 to 2013, the minister of foreign affairs from 2006 to 2012, and the 3rd president of the National Assembly of Venezuela from 2005 to 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human rights in Venezuela</span>

The record of human rights in Venezuela has been criticized by human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. Concerns include attacks against journalists, political persecution, harassment of human rights defenders, poor prison conditions, torture, extrajudicial executions by death squads, and forced disappearances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colectivo (Venezuela)</span> Far-left paramilitary groups that support the Venezuelan regime

Colectivos are far-left Venezuelan armed paramilitary groups that support the Bolivarian government, the Great Patriotic Pole (GPP) political alliance and Venezuela's ruling party, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV). Colectivo has become an umbrella term for irregular armed groups that operate in poverty-stricken areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presidency of Nicolás Maduro</span> Head of state of Venezuela

On 14 April 2013, Nicolás Maduro was elected President of Venezuela, narrowly defeating opposition candidate Henrique Capriles with just 1.5% of the vote separating the two candidates. Capriles immediately demanded a recount, refusing to recognize the outcome as valid. Maduro was later formally inaugurated as President on 19 April, after the election commission had promised a full audit of the election results. On 24 October 2013, he announced the creation of a new agency, the Vice Ministry of Supreme Happiness, to coordinate all the social programmes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crisis in Venezuela</span> Socioeconomic and political crisis in Venezuela in the 21st century

An ongoing socioeconomic and political crisis began in Venezuela during the presidency of Hugo Chávez and has worsened during the presidency of successor Nicolás Maduro. It has been marked by hyperinflation, escalating starvation, disease, crime and mortality rates, resulting in massive emigration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El Helicoide</span> Venezuelan political prison

El Helicoide is a building in Caracas, Venezuela owned by the Venezuelan government and used as a facility and prison for both regular and political prisoners of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN). In the shape of a three-sided pyramid, it was originally constructed as a shopping mall, but never completed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torture in Venezuela</span>

Torture in Venezuela has been a consistent phenomenon throughout its history. Various dictatorships from the Spanish colonial era into the twentieth century utilized torture against common criminals and political opponents. In the twentieth century, torture was common during the dictatorships of Juan Vicente Gómez and Marcos Pérez Jiménez. Torture also took place occasionally during Venezuela's democratic period, particularly during social outbursts, such as during the Caracazo and the 1992 coup attempts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Venezuelan presidential crisis</span> Political crisis in Venezuela from 2019 to 2023

The Venezuelan presidential crisis was a political crisis concerning the leadership and the legitimate president of Venezuela between 2019 and 2023, with the nation and the world divided in support for Nicolás Maduro or Juan Guaidó.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Conference on the Situation in Venezuela</span> Diplomatic conference

The International Conference on the Situation in Venezuela was a meeting of states which occurred in Montevideo, Uruguay, on 7 February 2019 to address the 2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis about the legitimacy of claims to the Venezuelan presidency by Juan Guaidó and Nicolás Maduro. The conference was jointly sponsored by the governments of Mexico and Uruguay; other participating countries included Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Panama, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, forming the International Contact Group on Venezuela.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edgar Zambrano</span> Venezuelan politician

Edgar José Zambrano Ramírez is a Venezuelan lawyer and politician that currently serves as a National Assembly deputy for the Lara state. From January 5, 2019 to January 5, 2020, he served as First Vice President of the Assembly. He was President of the Permanent Defense and Security Parliamentary Commission between 2016 and 2018. He is the vice president of the opposition political party Democratic Action.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 shipping of humanitarian aid to Venezuela</span>

During the presidential crisis between the Venezuelan governments of Nicolás Maduro and Juan Guaidó, a coalition of Colombia, Brazil, the United States and the Netherlands attempted to bring essential goods as a response to shortages in Venezuela. The three main bases used for the operation are: the Colombian city of Cúcuta, the Brazilian state of Roraima,, and the island of Curaçao, of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Responses to the Venezuelan presidential crisis</span> International responses to 2019–2023 political crisis

During the Venezuelan presidential crisis concerning the legitimate President of Venezuela, reactions and responses to the crisis were greatly divided.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanctions during the Venezuelan crisis</span> Sanctions during the crisis in Venezuela

During the crisis in Venezuela, the United States applied sanctions against specific Venezuelan government entities and individuals associated with the administration of Nicolás Maduro, along with sanctions applied by the European Union (E.U.), Canada, Mexico, Panama and Switzerland. By September 2019, the Center for Strategic and International Studies said 119 Venezuelans had been sanctioned by the U.S. and several other countries.

Rafael Ramón Acosta Arévalo was a Venezuelan military officer with the rank of corvette captain of the Venezuela Navy. Acosta Arévalo was victim of forced disappearance and tortured by agents of the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM) during his detention after being accused by the government of Nicolás Maduro of "conspiring to carry out an attempted coup d'état". Acosta Arévalo died as a result of injuries suffered after being tortured while in detention in the Military Hospital of the Army Dr. Vicente Salias Sanoja. The news of his death caused great impact in the media and the condemnation of both national and international authorities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Criminal Court investigation in Venezuela</span> Ongoing investigation by the International Crime Court

An investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to analyze possible crimes against humanity committed in Venezuela was opened in 2021. A preliminary examination was initially opened in 2006, and closed after concluding that the requirements to start an investigation had not been met. In February 2018, the ICC announced that it would open preliminary probes into alleged crimes against humanity performed by Venezuelan authorities since at least April 2017. In 2020, the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC stated that it believed there was a "reasonable basis" to believe that "since at least April 2017, civilian authorities, members of the armed forces and pro-government individuals have committed the crimes against humanity", and on 2021 ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan announced the opening of an investigation regarding the situation in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID-19 pandemic in Venezuela</span> COVID-19 viral pandemic in Venezuela

The COVID-19 pandemic in Venezuela was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The first two cases in Venezuela were confirmed on 13 March 2020; the first death was reported on 26 March. However, the first record of a patient claiming to have symptoms of coronavirus disease dates back to 29 February 2020, with government officials suspecting that the first person carrying the virus could have entered the country as early as 25 February.

Alena Douhan of Belarus is the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of the unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, as 25 March 2020. When appointed, she was a professor of International Law and the Director of the Peace Research Center at the Belarusian State University. Douhan's position on economic sanctions have garnered criticism from some international human rights law scholars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luis Carlos Díaz</span> Venezuelan journalist and activist

Luis Carlos Díaz Vázquez is a Venezuelan journalist and cyberactivist. He has worked at the Instituto Radiofónico Fe y Alegría, the Centro Gumilla and newspapers such as El Nacional and Tal Cual, as well as a radio host at Circuito Unión Radio, and served as a member of the editorial board of SIC magazine. Luis Carlos was arbitrarily detained in 2019 by agents of the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (SEBIN) during the nationwide blackouts of that year, being declared by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience. He was released the following day with precautionary measures and his case was archived in 2021, suspending such measures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bachelet Report</span>

The Bachelet report is the name given from the press to reports presented between 2019 and 2022 by then-United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, on the situation of the human rights in Venezuela, which was endorsed later by the United Nations Human Rights Council and opened the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela.

References

  1. ↑ "The Human Rights Council establishes an international mission for Venezuela". news.un.org. 29 September 2019.
  2. ↑ "Report of the United Nations Human Rights Office on Venezuela urges immediate steps to stop and remedy grave rights violations". ohchr.org. 2019.
  3. ↑ "Juan Guaidó: "El Informe de la ONU pone a Maduro a nivel de los crímenes atroces cometidos por Gaddafi"". Infobae. 19 September 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  4. ↑ "Maduro rechaza informe de la ONU sobre crímenes de lesa humanidad". Forbes.com.mx. 16 September 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  5. ↑ "Address by Marta Valiñas, Chairperson of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, to the 45th session of the Human Rights Council". ohchr.org.
  6. ↑ "La ONU renueva por 2 años más la Misión que investiga las violaciones de DD.HH. en Venezuela". ABC (in Spanish). 6 October 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.