This statement was delivered by Human Rights Watch at the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) during an interactive dialogue with the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, held on December 13, 2024.
Mr. President,
We thank the High Commissioner for his oral update and echo his concerns about the worsening human rights situation in Venezuela.
Authorities have failed to provide credible evidence to substantiate the National Electoral Council's claim that Nicolás Maduro won the July election.
Meanwhile, repression has intensified. Foro Penal reports over 1,900 political prisoners in the country, including 23 whose whereabouts are unknown, and some 40 adolescents. While the government has released some people arbitrarily detained, it has also arrested others, in what Venezuelan human rights groups describe as a "revolving door."
We urge UN member states to call on Venezuelan authorities to immediately and unconditionally release people arbitrarily arrested, including human rights defender Rocío San Miguel, who remains in jail since February 9. The government should also urgently clarify the whereabouts of people who appear to be victims of enforced disappearances, such as Sofía María Sahagún Ortíz, a Spanish-Venezuelan citizen.
Human Rights Watch is concerned that repression could intensify even further as the January 10 inauguration day approaches.
We welcome the announcement that the High Commissioner's office is returning to Caracas. We hope to see the office make a full return, free of government conditions, with transparency about the terms on which it is present, and Venezuelan authorities should allow for unrestricted monitoring and reporting of the human rights situation, including full access to detention centers.
We would like to ask the High Commissioner to elaborate on what measures his Office and UN member states can take to promote human rights in Venezuela.
