20TH SESSION OF THE ASSEMBLY OF STATES PARTIES
8 December 2021
Name of the Event: Paths to Justice and Accountability in Venezuela: Ongoing Initiatives by the International Community (co-hosted by Un Mundo Sin Mordaza, Defiende Venezuela, Organization of American States (SOAS))
Report by: Guillermo Ferrer Hernáez, Junior Research Associate PILPG-NL
Speakers:
Génesis Dávila, Founder and President, Defiende Venezuela
Rodrigo Diamanti, President, Un Mundo Sin Mordaza
Fernando Fernández, Human Rights Monitor Venezuela
Santiago Cantón, Organization of American States Panel of Experts
Joanna Frivet, Crimes Against Humanity Observatory
Irwin Cotler, Organization of American States Panel of Experts
Omar Adolfo Lares Sánchez, former mayor, Campo Elías Municipality; victim of political persecution; human rights activist
Highlights:
The panelists called for the international community and civil society organizations’ further commitment to calling for the prosecution of the crimes committed by mid- and high-level officials in Venezuela.
The panelists agreed that a genuine prosecutorial process cannot exist in Venezuela because of authorities' present reluctance to prosecute government officials.
The panelists urged the international community to start parallel processes towards prosecuting the perpetrators of international crimes.
The panelists highlighted that there is still mass human suffering in Venezuela that must end.
Summary of the event:
The first speaker, Santiago Cantón, reflected on the lack of impartiality in the Venezuelan judiciary, and the agreement signed by the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the Venezuelan judiciary to investigate allegations of crimes against humanity committed by Venezuelan authorities. Cantón argued that the signature of the agreement does not constitute a threat to the prosecution of these crimes. He noted that an investigation has been opened by the OTP.
Cantón claimed that we will not see Maduro’s government collaborating with the OTP as that would require investigation into persons close to him. Cantón argued that even if the OTP’s limited resources impact the investigative process, the investigation must continue in order to stop the suffering of the Venezuelans who are victims of crimes against humanity.
The second speaker, Irwin Cotler, described how he reported these human rights violations to the Human Rights Committee and emphasized the revolutionary nature of the collective referral of these cases to the ICC for prosecution. Cotler expressed that the Venezuelan authorities not only committed these crimes, but also caused human suffering and deaths by weaponizing food and medicine. He conveyed hope that justice for Venezuelans will be achieved and perpetrators will be held accountable.
The third speaker, Joanna Frivet, explained the implications of positive complementarity within the Venezuelan investigation. She argued that legislative and procedural reforms are necessary to comply with ICC standards, but noted that this will not be enough to achieve justice. Frivet asserted that a genuine and transparent investigation of mid- and high-level officials needs to be carried out. Moreover, she argued, the OTP ought to take action as soon as possible to preserve the evidence and put an end to the human suffering in Venezuela.
The fourth speaker, Fernando Fernández, criticized the high level of impunity in the Venezuelan judicial system and emphasized its structural problems. He made several arguments concerning the lack of transparency in the substantive and procedural aspects of this system. Firstly, Fernández argued that the Venezuelan Criminal Code does not contain the same standards as the Rome Statute. He noted that as long as this code remains without implementation and reform, it will be difficult to prosecute such crimes. Secondly, he explained that the Venezuelan legal system does not include an impeachment process for high-level officials. Fernández argued that this makes it impossible to achieve justice and accountability.
Fernández expressed that there is a high probability that high-level officials will be impugned for committing these international crimes and he gave several reasons for this. First, he noted that several cases, which were referred to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, will likely end with no conviction because of the difficulty of preserving evidence in such a long process. Second, Fernández underlined Venezuela's history of endogamy and clientelism within judicial proceedings and argued that this tendency will eventually lead to impunity for perpetrators.
The discussion of the panelists then turned to the necessity of holding mid- and high-level officials accountable for their actions. Joanna Frivet argued that if the Venezuelan authorities only investigate low-level officials, the ICC’s liability threshold will not be met. Therefore, she claimed, the ICC will no longer consider positive complementarity. Following this, Irwin Cotler put forth that the international community needs to look at other remedies, for instance, the prosecution of these crimes under the principle of universal jurisdiction or the implementation of collective countermeasures against the officials. Cotler also argued that Venezuela is a state party to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and therefore, the Venezuelan state could be brought before the ICJ. Then, Santiago Cantón asserted that even if the Venezuelan authorities try to show that they are taking measures to prosecute domestically, high-level officials will not truly be prosecuted. Cantón argued that human rights defenders need to prove to the OTP that what has been or is being done is not enough and that justice is not currently operating in Venezuela. The event concluded with the testimony of Omar Lares, former mayor of the Municipality of Campo Elías in Venezuela who was persecuted by government officials for defending Venezuela’s democracy.