Situation of Human Rights in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

A/HRC/RES/45/20View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the Human Rights Council, under agenda item 4Human rights situations that require the Council's attention, published in 2020.

What other versions does this mandate have?

4 versions · 2019–2024

This is an older version — the most recent is A/HRC/RES/57/36

2024A/HRC/RES/57/36Situation of human rights in the Bolivarian Republic of VenezuelaLatestCompare with previous version
2022A/HRC/RES/51/29Situation of human rights in the Bolivarian Republic of VenezuelaCompare with previous version
2020A/HRC/RES/45/20Situation of human rights in the Bolivarian Republic of VenezuelaCompare with previous version
2019A/HRC/RES/42/25Situation of human rights in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

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What subjects does this mandate have?

8 topics

Civil and Political Rights Crimes Against Humanity Elections Fact-Finding Missions Human Rights Human Rights Violations Judicial Independence Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic Of)

What does this mandate say?

18 operative paragraphs

Welcomes the reports of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and requests the High Commissioner to present them to the General Assembly at its seventy-fifth session;

Also welcomes the report of the independent international fact-finding mission containing information on documented cases of extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention and torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment committed in the country since 2014, and its detailed findings thereon;

Strongly condemns all violations and abuses of international human rights law in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, urges the Venezuelan authorities to implement fully and immediately the recommendations contained in the recent reports of the High Commissioner and in the report of the independent international fact-finding mission, and regrets that most of the recommendations made in the previous report of the High Commissioner have not been implemented;

Expresses deep concern that insecurity of tenure, lack of transparency in the process of designating judges and prosecutors, precarious working conditions and political interference, including in respect of members of the Supreme Court lacking personal independence from the authorities and the ruling party, undermine the independence of the justice system, contribute to impunity and the persistence of human rights violations and hinder the holding of free, fair, transparent and credible elections;

Strongly condemns the widespread targeted repression and persecution on political grounds, including through the excessive use of force, arbitrary detention, torture, ill-treatment, extrajudicial execution and enforced disappearance by the security forces, and the violations of the independence of the National Assembly, including against its leadership and in the exercise of its functions concerning the National Electoral Council and through the violation of the rights of its members, their relatives and support staff, as well as the intervention in the autonomy and composition of several political parties;

Urges the Venezuelan authorities to adopt appropriate measures to address reported acts of violence and harassment; sexual violence against women and girls in detention in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, which includes accounts of physical, sexual and verbal abuse, threats and intimidation; the sexual exploitation of women and girls for food, protection and privileges; and the ill-treatment, torture and denial of rights of women human rights defenders, nurses, teachers, civil servants, political prisoners and detainees in detention centres;

Welcomes the recent pardon of 110 people, most of whom had been arbitrarily detained, forced into exile or held under precautionary measures, and urges the Venezuelan authorities to immediately release all political prisoners and all other persons unlawfully or arbitrarily deprived of their liberty, prioritizing those particularly vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic and those identified by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the independent international fact-finding mission and the Office of the High Commissioner;

Calls upon parties in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to engage promptly in, or in support of, a process that will ensure the holding of free, fair and credible presidential and parliamentary elections, with an independent national electoral council and an impartial Supreme Court, as well as full freedom of the press and the unfettered political participation of all Venezuelans and all political parties, without fear of repercussions or interference, respecting international standards;

Expresses deep concern at the human rights and environmental situation in the Arco Minero del Orinoco region, which is the site of labour exploitation of miners, including child labour, human trafficking and forced prostitution, and expresses particular concern about the violations of the rights of indigenous peoples in the region;

Deplores the restrictions to civic and democratic space, including under the “state of alarm” decreed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the continued killings of young men by security forces in marginalized neighbourhoods characterized by high levels of insecurity;

Expresses profound alarm that the independent international fact-finding mission found reasonable grounds to believe that the following crimes against humanity were committed in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela since 2014: murder, imprisonment and other severe deprivation of physical liberty, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, enforced disappearance of persons, and other inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health;

Decides to transmit all reports and oral updates of the High Commissioner on the situation of human rights in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the report of the independent international fact-finding mission to the General Assembly, and recommends that the Assembly submit them, in particular the report on the situation in the Arco Minero del Orinoco region, to all relevant United Nations bodies for appropriate action;

Encourages relevant special procedures to pay particular attention, within their respective mandates, to the situation of human rights in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and urges the Venezuelan authorities to cooperate fully with their work, including by facilitating country visits;

Requests the High Commissioner to continue to monitor, report on and provide technical cooperation with a view to improving the situation of human rights in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, including through the presentation of oral updates to the Human Rights Council at its forty-sixth and forty-ninth sessions, to be followed by interactive dialogues, and also requests the High Commissioner to prepare comprehensive written reports on the situation of human rights in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela containing a detailed assessment of the implementation of the recommendations made in her previous reports, and to present them to the Council at its forty-seventh and fiftieth sessions, to be followed by interactive dialogues;

Decides to extend the mandate of the independent international fact-finding mission for a period of two years, to enable the mission to continue to investigate gross violations of human rights, including extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, including those involving sexual and gender-based violence, committed since 2014, with a view of combating impunity and ensuring full accountability for perpetrators and justice for victims, and requests the mission to present an oral update on its work during an interactive dialogue at the forty-sixth and forty-ninth sessions of the Council, and to prepare written reports on its findings, to be presented to the Council during an interactive dialogue at its forty-eighth and fifty-first sessions;

Urges the Venezuelan authorities to cooperate fully with the Office of the High Commissioner and the independent international fact-finding mission, to grant them immediate, full and unfettered access to the entire country, including to victims and places of detention, to provide them with all the information necessary to fulfil their mandates, and to ensure that all individuals have unhindered access to and can communicate with the United Nations and other human rights entities without fear of reprisal, intimidation or attack;

Requests that the Office of the High Commissioner be provided with all the resources necessary to fulfil the mandate and that the independent international fact-finding mission be provided with the full administrative, technical and logistical support needed to carry out its mandate;

Decides to remain actively seized of the matter and to consider further measures, including the establishment of a commission of inquiry if the situation continues to deteriorate or if the Venezuelan authorities do not cooperate meaningfully with the Office of the High Commissioner, the independent international fact-finding mission and the special procedures, particularly through the implementation of the recommendations contained in the reports of the High Commissioner.

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