Flickr/Eneas De Troya
Pressure is increasing on the Venezuelan authorities as human rights bodies and States in the region and beyond denounce repression and call for respect of rights. At the upcoming Human Rights Council session, the push for the respect of rights must continue with the renewal of key mandates.
The Inter-American Commission is excoriating in its evaluation of the repression of protestors, human rights defenders and anyone perceived a opponents of the regime. ‘The regime in power is sowing terror as a tool to silence the citizenry and perpetuate the ruling authoritarian regime in power,’ says the Commission.
The repression being meted out has involved killings of protestors, arbitrary detentions and political persecution. As the UN’s Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela has well noted, this shows ‘the accelerated reactivation of the repressive machinery that was never dismantled’. The world was forewarned well before the 28 July presidential election of what was likely to happen. The UN’s High Commissioner has spoken of ‘a climate of fear’ in the country and called for release of those arbitrarily detained. The High Commissioner’s office in Venezuela remains suspended, still operating from Panama.
Venezuelan defenders both in and out of the country have been working day and night to document attacks on protestors, and the arbitrary detention and persecution of those who are calling on the Venezuelan government to end repression and respect international electoral standards. Venezuelan NGO Foro Penal produces daily updates on detentions.
The space for civil society in Venezuela, however, keeps closing. On 15 August, the National Assembly passed an NGO law – the Law for the Control, Regularization, Performance and Financing of Non-Governmental and Related Organizations – that members of the ruling party had threatened for months. In January, ISHR joined other NGOs in denouncing the bill for contradicting international standards.
‘The adoption of the NGO Law is one more piece in a strategy aimed at closing down civic space completely,’ said ISHR’s Eleanor Openshaw. ‘These are times when Venezuelan human rights defenders urgently need political and financial support.’
Political pressure is building on Venezuela. Following a first unsuccessful attempt, on 16 August, the Organization of American States passed a resolution by ‘consensus’. It called for the publication and independent revision of vote tallies and the end of human rights violations.
We are now three weeks out from the start of the next Human Rights Council (HRC) session in Geneva, when a resolution is expected to be presented to renew the mandates of the Fact-Finding Mission and OHCHR:
‘The Fact-Finding mission and OHCHR play essential, separate roles in documenting and alerting the world to violations in Venezuela, as well as providing road maps for the essential reform that is needed,’ said Openshaw. ‘That work is more essential than ever in this period of violent repression and ongoing uncertainty.’
‘All States must call for fair elections and the protection of those protesting fraud and, during the upcoming HRC session, be unequivocal in their support for the renewal of strong mandates for the Fact-Finding Mission and OHCHR,’ she added.
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.
An event held on 18 October 2024 on the sidelines of the African Commission's 81st session shed light on restrictions on the work of human rights defenders in Côte d’Ivoire - specifically with respect to freedom of association and assembly, the shrinking of civic space, and the particular threats faced by those who defend the rights of LGBTIQ+ people.
