IACHR Asks Venezuela to Fight Impunity for Serious Human Rights Violations

May 20, 2024

Washington, D.C. – The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) notes recent announcements made by the State of Venezuela about a budding openness to international cooperation in the fight against impunity for serious human rights violations. For those efforts to be effective, the State must restore the separation and independence of the different branches of government.

On April 23, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said that the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court—which is currently conducting an investigation into the crimes against humanity that have allegedly been perpetrated in the country—is set to open an office in Caracas and will be cooperating with Venezuelan authorities. Maduro also said that the State would invite the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to have a team in the South American country again. OHCHR staff were expelled from Venezuela on February 15, in events that were condemned by the IACHR.

The State's openness to hosting both offices must be supported by a real, serious commitment to fighting impunity. According to a report published by the Panel of Independent International Experts of the Organization of American States (OAS), out of a sample of 183 cases involving behavior that might amount to crimes against humanity in Venezuela, only 12 (barely 6%, that is) reached the trial stage, while the State failed to launch judicial proceedings in 52.5% of those 183 cases.

The main challenge in the fight against impunity in Venezuela involves the executive coopting both the judiciary and the public prosecutor's office. On various occasions, the IACHR and other international organizations have denounced irregular appointments of Supreme Court of Justice magistrates and of the head of the public prosecutor's office in Venezuela, as well as pressure exerted to secure specific court decisions or moves to shelve certain cases, high rates of temporary appointments and a lack of irremovability guarantees for judges, the forceful admission of evidence, frequent changes in public prosecutors, and a lack of judicial oversight and transparency concerning the work of public prosecutors.

The Inter-American Commission stresses that impunity has led to the recurrence of human rights violations and has enabled a policy based on selective repression in the country, with the aim of discouraging political participation among individuals who are government critics or are considered government critics. Genuine commitment in the fight against impunity requires that the State take immediate action to restore the separation of powers and the independence of the public prosecutor's office and the justice system more generally.

A principal, autonomous body of the OAS, the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for and to defend human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 107/24

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