The IACHR highlighted the increase in forced disappearances, the lack of due process and the isolation to which a large number of political prisoners are subjected in Venezuela. Rapporteur Gloria de Mees stated that the institutions that should ensure the human rights of the population “have lost their independence and have become instruments of repression that propped up an authoritarian regime.”
Commissioner Gloria de Mees, rapporteur of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) for Venezuela, indicated that the administration of Nicolás Maduro has not responded to the request – made in September – for a visit to Venezuelan territory during the last quarter of the year to the country.
This “is a decisive moment that will have great importance as a reflection of Venezuela’s will to interact with the inter-American human rights system (…) and allow independent scrutiny,” said the IACHR rapporteur during a session of the permanent council of the Organization of American States (OAS).
The visit proposed by the Commission Interamericana aims to verify the human rights situation in the country, especially in the El Helicoide detention center, which is guarded by the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (Sebin) and has been called a “torture center.”
“A visit to Helicoide is essential,” confirmed De Mees, who indicated that there are also plans to meet with government actors, victims and NGOs.
The expert recalled that the Commission’s last visit to the country was in 2002, and the latest requests (2017 and 2020) have been denied. “Even in 2020, the members of the Commission were prevented from boarding the flight to Caracas.”
In addition, he highlighted that the IACHR issued 23 precautionary measures last year. This year, the commissioner noted, 25 have been awarded, the last to a “missing” French citizen in Venezuela.
De Mees pointed out that these measures are a record of urgent situations and have “established an official record of the State’s obligations and has offered protection to people at risk.”
The situation has deteriorated, De Mees said, since human rights violations “are not isolated incidents, but are planned, executed and sustained incidents to perpetuate power. “The persecution of dissident voices has intensified, revealing a deepening authoritarianism.”
The rapporteur for Venezuela stated that the institutions that should ensure the human rights of the population, “have lost their independence and have become instruments of repression that propped up an authoritarian regime.”
He also highlighted the increase in forced disappearances, the lack of due process and the isolation to which a large number of political prisoners are subjected, which, according to the Penal Forum, are at least 838, including four teenagers.
The organization ratified its solidarity with the victims and the Venezuelan people “to restore the rule of law in the country (…) The message must be unequivocal: they are not alone. “The Commission follows its mandate to observe the situation, grant precautionary measures and give visibility to the violations that are being committed.”
For his part, the Secretary for Strengthening Democracy of the OAS, Sebastián Kraljevich, reiterated the support of the organization. “An on-site visit would constitute a significant and concrete step towards transparency, accountability and the protection of human dignity.”
Support for the IACHR
Argentina, which made the proposal to the permanent council to review the request, said that Venezuela “has become an emblematic case where the four fundamental pillars of the OAS, democracy, human rights, security and development, are being severely threatened. Forced disappearance as a crime against humanity is something that some of us have denounced for a long time.
The Argentine representative said the rapporteur’s message “is very strong” regarding forced disappearances, and questioned countries about maintaining a “diplomacy of silence” in the face of this type of violations, which they consider a crime against humanity, in the region.
“Are we going to remain silent in the face of a dictatorship that disappears and kidnaps citizens of our countries, both Venezuelans and non-Venezuelans?” declared the Argentine representative, while mentioning the case of gendarme Nahuel Gallo, who has been detained and held incommunicado in Venezuela for 10 months this Wednesday.
He reiterated that Argentina is not only committed to that case “but to all the Nahuel Gallo that exist. “The voice of those Venezuelans who suffer, someone has to raise it.”
Ecuador, which thanked the statements after the attack on President Daniel Noboa, asked the IACHR to evaluate the impact of human rights violations on women, especially the psychological effects and reports of sexual violence.
Uruguay, for its part, pointed out that the refusal to scrutinize human rights in Venezuela “is repeated,” which is why it called on all OAS organizations “to restart contacts with Venezuela, so that contacts are maintained with the IACHR and the inter-American human rights system.”
The representative of Chile supported these statements, since “denying access to these mechanisms directly attacks transparency,” while the United States ambassador said that “the facts are clear, the Maduro regime continues to silence dissent, using security forces and undermining all justice institutions. “His actions are contrary to the OAS Charter.”
*Journalism in Venezuela is carried out in a hostile environment for the press with dozens of legal instruments in place to punish the word, especially the laws “against hate”, “against fascism” and “against the blockade.” This content was written taking into consideration the threats and limits that, consequently, have been imposed on the dissemination of information from within the country.
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