Since December 2023, there has been an alarming increase in forced disappearances in Venezuela that would affect citizens who exercise their right to freedom of expression, association and participation in matters of public interest, independent UN experts warned this Tuesday. *.
Most of the forcibly disappeared people are members of the main opposition political party and soldiers.
“As the country prepares for the presidential elections in July 2024, these forced disappearances could have a deterrent effect and hinder the population’s right to vote freely,” warned the members of the Working Group on Forced or Involuntary Disappearances.
“These prolonged and incommunicado detentions are equivalent to forced disappearances. They appear to follow a pattern according to which people are deprived of their liberty by state authorities, taken to recognized detention centers and there deprived of their fundamental rights such as contact with the outside world and access to legal assistance,” they stated in a statement.
Inform family members
And they explain that “depriving a person of their freedom, followed by the refusal to acknowledge their detention, or concealing their fate or whereabouts, places them outside the protection of the law. This constitutes a forced disappearance, regardless of the duration of said deprivation of liberty or concealment.”
Therefore, they consider “crucial that it be ensured without delay” accurate information about people deprived of liberty to any person who has a legitimate interest, such as their family members and legal representatives of their choice.
“The crime of forced disappearance entails the violation of multiple human rights,” they noted. Among them, the right to recognition of legal personality, the right to freedom and security, and the right not to be subjected to acts of torture.
Furthermore, they consider that the fundamental rights of the relatives of the missing person are also violated.
“In this situationsit is often the families of missing people who bear the burden of searching for their loved ones in detention centers, where they are not only systematically denied information about their fate or whereabouts, but are also exposed to the risk of reprisals,” the experts said.
And they recalled that “the State has the obligation to seek and reveal the truth about missing persons,” as well as that impunity for these crimes undermines confidence in the rule of law and institutions, and perpetuates a climate of fear and insecurity. in society.
In the statement, the experts urge the State of Venezuela to take measures to:
- prevent, eradicate and prosecute all acts of forced disappearance
- provide information on the fate and whereabouts of people currently detained incommunicado by the State
- offer them all legal guarantees, including the right to communicate with and receive visits from their families, access to legal assistance of their choice and the right to appear before a competent court to determine the legality of their detention
The Working Group on Forced or Involuntary Disappearances is in contact with the authorities in this regard and has expressed to the Government its availability to provide cooperation and technical assistance, with a view to ensuring that the human rights of persons deprived of liberty and freedom are respected. their families, and that any case of forced disappearance be investigated in accordance with international human rights law.
*UN experts: Mrs. Aua Baldé (Chairwoman), Ms. Gabriella Citroni (Vice President), Ms Angkhana Neelapaijit, Mrs. Grażyna Baranowska and Mrs. Ana Lorena Delgadillo Pérez. Working Group on Forced or Involuntary Disappearances
The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. The Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the United Nations human rights system, is the general name for the Council’s independent investigative and monitoring mechanisms that address specific national situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. . Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; They are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent of any government or organization and provide services in their individual capacity.
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