HRC49: Continuing human rights crisis in Venezuela demands continued support from UN
Past and ongoing human rights violations in Venezuela were back on the Council’s agenda this session, with States detailing levels of impunity and continuing abuses that far outweigh the small signs of progress made.
The 17th and 18th March saw Venezuela’s human rights record back in the spotlight at the Human Rights Council with interactive dialogues held with the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission.
The High Commissioner noted that some progress had been made from addressing overcrowding in pre-trial detention centres, to the conclusion of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. The High Commissioner emphasized that all announced reforms had to be implemented in ‘a meaningful, genuine and effective manner, to address past human rights violations and prevent their recurrence’ and stressed that the Office was standing by to offer technical advice on how this could best be done. No mention was made of the ongoing question of establishing a permanent OHCHR presence in the country.
Restrictions on civil society were reported on by the High Commissioner, who highlighted the case of Javier Tarazona, Director of NGO Fundaredes, who has now been arbitrarily detained for 271 days.
The phenomenon of the arbitrary detention of government opponents was highlighted by María Ramírez Romero. The Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions has called for her husband Juan Pablo Saavedra to be released.
‘There is no rule of law in the country,’ noted the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights during the dialogue. This was echoed by the Fact-Finding Mission in their oral update to the Council. Their report to the Council is due in September. The majority of States and NGOs intervening spoke favourably about the work of the Fact-Finding Mission with several noting the importance of the Mission’s mandate being renewed in September.
The importance of the continued work of both the Office and the Fact-Finding Mission as independent and complementary mechanisms remains clear as a result of the Council dialogues, according to ISHR’s Eleanor Openshaw.
‘There is still so far to go in implementing UN recommendations related to addressing the human rights and humanitarian crises in the country. The work of OHCHR and the Fact-Finding Mission are focused on providing monitoring and reporting on the situation and providing technical’, she noted.
‘For that reason the UN must keep supporting the work of the Office and the Fact-Finding Mission and keep them both focused on the situation in the country.’
On 22 and 23 March 2023, the Human Rights Council held a general debate on human rights situations requiring the Council’s attention. States and NGOs spoke, and the High Commissioner spoke on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. They drew the Council’s attention to a number of country situations of concern. ISHR delivered a statement, highlighting the human rights situation in four countries: Burkina Faso, Colombia, El Salvador, and Saudi Arabia.
On 15 March 2023, together with ISHR, Hossam Bahgat of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) delivered a joint statement on the situation of human rights defenders in Egypt. The statement was supported by over a dozen organisations from across the world.
As witnessed by the world during COP27, the brutal crackdown on civil society in Egypt continues to intensify, and sustained, coordinated action on Egypt at the Human Rights Council is more necessary than ever.
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