© Charlotte Giang Beuret for ISHR (2023)
The UN’s Fact-Finding Mission left the Human Rights Council in no doubt: The repression following the presidential elections in July was planned and an extension of an existing policy to induce fear in and silence the opposition.
The spike in repression following the Presidential election on 28 July in Venezuela, led to the UN’s Fact-Finding Mission redirecting its work to focus on documenting the violations taking place then and there and to making known the apparatus that supported these planned violations. The story of this repression is at the heart of the Mission’s latest report which they have just presented to the Human Rights Council.
Mission members told the Council that the post-electoral repression they have documented was carried out by members of the security corps and armed groups allied with the government. According to the Mission, the repression was instigated by the highest civilian and military authorities, including President Maduro, through threatening public statements. New violations may also constitute crimes against humanity.
This repression was in no way unexpected, according to the Mission. Starting in October 2023, the State’s repressive apparatus was reactivated, and its functioning intensified in the run-up to the election. Following the election, the repression ‘took on a massive and indiscriminate character’, according to the Mission. This included 25 killings, hundreds of people injured and arrested including children and persons with disabilities, arbitrary detentions, reprisals, digital repression and cancellation of passports. Those targeted have been those demanding transparency of the electoral results, protestors, electoral officials and opposition coordinators.
In its statement for the interactive dialogue at the Human Rights Council’s 57th session, ISHR also highlighted the experience faced by many independent civil society groups: the space to operate is fast disappearing due to restrictions applied by the authorities. This has forced many to leave the country.
Several Venezuelan colleagues who had plans to attend the session and carry out advocacy in support of the renewal of the UN mandates were not able to come due to the cancellation of their passports and other types of reprisals. Several civil society groups who spoke during the dialogue repeated the same concern and call:
‘We condemn the use of repressive measures to stop defenders in Venezuela from attending the Council session. We call on States to amplify their voices and ensure they are part of the solutions to this human rights crisis.’
During the interactive dialogue with the Mission, many States spoke out against the repressive tactics of the Venezuelan government and called for the renewal of the mandates of the Fact-Finding Mission and OHCHR. The Inter-American Commission also spoke out in favour of renewal.
This was the last of the Mission’s reports and set of recommendations to the Council under its current mandate. A draft resolution to renew the mandates of both the Fact-Finding Mission and OHCHR is being negotiated currently during the 57th Human Rights Council session with a vote on the draft likely to take place between 9-11 October.
Stolen Presidential elections, the use of deeply repressive tactics by State agents against real and perceived opponents, and the recent return of OHCHR to Caracas informed today’s dialogue on Venezuela between the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Human Rights Council.
At the review of Burkina Faso’s periodic report to the African Commission, ISHR noted a worrying trend of arrests, conscription, and abductions of human rights defenders, some of whom are deployed to the battlefield.
At a side event on the relevance of the African human rights system to the conflict in Gaza, panellists urged States and the Commission to ensure Israel ends its unlawful occupation and respect international human rights norms.
