The NGOs, in addition to calling for the end of the State Unrest, also demand the release of political prisoners, the cessation of arbitrary detentions and the full restitution of fundamental rights and moving towards a democratic and peaceful solution.
National and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) demanded that the State immediately repeal the State Decree of Foreign Commotionconsidering that its validity lacks legal justification and has served as an instrument to restrict fundamental rights and criminalize dissent.
In a decalogue of priority demands, signed by various human rights NGOs, and in a statement from the Peace Laboratory, the organizations warn that the decree, adopted on January 3, after the capture of Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores, does not comply with the standards of international law, which only allow states of exception in strictly exceptional situations, such as wars or real threats to the life of the nation.
The NGOs point out that the Venezuelan State itself has recognized the existence of channels of cooperation and negotiation with the country that it identifies as an external aggressor (the United States), which – they affirm – distorts the factual basis for sustaining an emergency regime due to “external shock.”
According to the Peace Laboratory document, the extension of the decree opens a serious risk of using the exceptional regime as a mechanism of internal political control, by protecting practices prohibited by international law, such as arbitrary detentions, restrictions on personal freedom, expression and assembly, as well as violations of due process.
The organization denounced that, under the coverage of the decree, arbitrary deprivations of liberty have occurred, protected by provisions that order the immediate search and capture of people throughout the national territory, without these measures being necessary or proportional.
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Other demands of NGOs
In addition to the repeal of the State of Foreign Commotion, the organizations that signed the decalogue and the Peace Laboratory statement made other demands to the Venezuelan State, among them:
- Total release of political prisoners and cessation of arbitrary detentions.
- Full restoration of constitutional guarantees and fundamental rights.
- End the criminalization of protest and political dissent.
- Respect for due process and personal freedom.
- Allow independent international supervision of the human rights situation and facilitate visits by international organizations.
The NGOs reiterated that national security and sovereignty cannot be invoked to justify the indefinite suspension of rights, and stressed that democracy, the rule of law and human rights are indivisible and inalienable, even in crisis contexts.
Finally, they urged the international community to maintain pressure on the Venezuelan authorities to guarantee respect for human rights and move towards a democratic and peaceful solution.
The decalogue of demands was signed by a group of human rights organizations, including Acceso a la Justicia, Provea, the Center for Justice and International Law (Cejil), the Venezuelan Human Rights Education-Action Program (Provea), WOLA, Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón, Foro Penal, Venezuelan Observatory of Prisons and other NGOs that document violations of fundamental rights and accompany victims in the country.
*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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