A new report published this Wednesday by the UN Independent Mission for Venezuela denounced that The Caracas government intensified “attacks on civic and democratic space” to “silence opposition or criticism” to the Executive of Nicolás Maduro.
The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela investigated allegations of human rights violations reported in the country between January 2020 and August 2023, and concluded that it has “reasonable grounds to believe that at least 5 arbitrary deprivations of life, 14 short-term forced disappearances and 58 arbitrary detentions were committed” in that period.
Besides, The experts recorded 28 cases of torture or other cruel treatment against detainees, including 19 cases of sexual violence.
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The mission was created by the UN Human Rights Council in 2019 to investigate alleged human rights violations against opponents of which the Maduro government is accused.
In his new reportthe group emphasizes that since the beginning of 2021 it received “fewer accusations of serious human rights violations cagainst people who are opposed to the government or perceived as such”.
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They form a repressive apparatus of the State used with different levels of intensity
But these types of incidents “continue to be committed (…), recently (…) in a more selective manner against certain people from civil society, such as union leaders, journalists and human rights defenders,” said Marta Valiñas, president of the mission.
The report accuses the state of resorting to “threats, constant surveillance and harassment, defamation and censorship” to “suffocate the opposition.”
“Together, these two types of mechanisms, ‘hard’ and ‘soft’, make up a repressive apparatus of the State used with different levels of intensity, depending on the nature and strength of social dissidence,” said Francisco Cox, an expert at The mission.
ANA MARÍA RODRÍGUEZ BRAZÓN
TIME CORRESPONDENT
CARACAS
*With AFP
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