GENEVA, Switzerland – Venezuelan authorities must respect the rights to life, liberty and personal security of all Venezuelans and release all those who have arbitrarily detained, the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela said today ahead of the presidential inauguration scheduled for 10 January.
“We strongly call upon the authorities to ensure that the rights to peaceful protest and free expression be exercised without fear of reprisal. We remind security forces responsible for maintaining public order that they should adhere to the strictest international standards on the use of force,” said Marta Valiñas, Chair of the Fact-Finding Mission. “Any violations of rights must be promptly, thoroughly, and impartially investigated and prosecuted by independent courts, with full respect for due process.”
In its most recent report to the Human Rights Council, the Fact-Finding Mission documented the violent repression of protests following the presidential elections of July 28, which it described as one of the most acute human rights crises in the country’s recent history. The protests erupted after the announcement of the election results, which declared president Nicolás Maduro the winner.
“The Fact-Finding Mission has determined that the repressive apparatus remains fully operational,” said Francisco Cox, an expert of the Fact-Finding Mission.
“Between August and December 2024, authorities detained at least 56 political opposition activists, ten journalists, and one human rights defender. Those who order arbitrary detentions and the imposition of torture or other ill-treatment, as well as those who carry them out, bear individual criminal responsibility.”
At the end of December 2024, the public prosecutor’s office reported that 1,369 of the more than 2,500 individuals detained during the post-electoral repression had been released following a review of their cases. However, these figures could not been corroborated. According to the latest data from the non-governmental organization Foro Penal, 1,849 people remain in detention for political reasons, facing multiple irregularities and restrictions affecting their rights to food, health, and access to essential legal guarantees in ongoing legal processes.
In addition to reiterating its demand for the release of all arbitrarily detained individuals and respect for Venezuela’s own laws, the Fact-Finding Mission emphasized the obligation of the State to provide special protection for detainees with health issues, the elderly, and seriously consider the best interest of children still facing legal proceedings.
The Fact-Finding Mission notes that new individuals are detained daily, and hundreds remain in prison under degrading conditions, subjected to torture, as well as inhuman, cruel, and degrading treatment.
“Released individuals, including children, remain subject to precautionary measures and charges for serious crimes such as terrorism or treason,” said Patricia Tappatá, an expert of the Fact-Finding Mission. “The persecution of opponets to the government – or those perceived as such by the government – not only continues, but has taken the form of a systematic attack on the freedom of those who think differently.”
As part of its mandate, the Fact-Finding Mission is paying close attention to events before and after the presidential inauguration. The Fact-Finding Mission will investigate cases of serious human rights violations and crimes that may occur and analyze whether they fit into the State policy of silencing the opposition, already identified in its previous reports.
Background: In September 2019, the United Nations Human Rights Council established the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela for one year to assess alleged human rights violations committed since 2014. The Fact-Finding Mission presented its latest annual report during an interactive dialogue at the Council in September 2024, accompanied by a coference room paper with its detailed findings. In its resolution 57/36, the Council extended the Fact-Finding Mission’s mandate for two more years, until October 2026.
