The IACHR calls for continued pressure on Venezuela

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) remains firm in its condemnation of the development of the electoral process in Venezuela and urges the international community not to let up on the pressure: “It will only be late when there is silence”the organization’s rapporteur for that country, Gloria Monique de Mees, told EFE.

“The moment when there is silence on the part of the international community, on the part of the countries of the inter-American system, it will be too late.” In the meantime, he said in a telephone interview, “there is hope.”

This very week the Supreme Court of Justice The Supreme Court of Venezuela, controlled by pro-Chavez judges, ratified the disputed victory of Nicolás Maduro in the elections of July 28 against the opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia.

With his ruling, he said he had “unequivocally” concluded the review of the elections at a time when the National Electoral Council (CNE) has not yet published the disaggregated results, despite what was indicated in the schedule prepared by the governing body.

The IACHR rapporteur condemns the validity and integrity of this ruling. “First of all, because the validation of election results is outside of its mandate and jurisdiction,” says De Mees, who took up her post in January for a four-year term.

His organization had previously called for the urgent restoration of democratic order and the rule of law in Venezuela and for access to public electoral information through the dissemination of all the minutes, among other demands.

In his opinion, not publishing the minutes “is a clear sign” that there is an attempt to “consolidate the power of the regime.”

Eleven American countries – Argentina, Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, the United States, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay – rejected the judicial expert opinion requested by Maduro after the Supreme Court ruling.

“Recognition or non-recognition is a sovereign political decision of each country. The commission is not going to make a statement on that,” says De Mees, originally from Suriname and who has provided advice at the national level on the Inter-American Human Rights System and on legislation and policies.

The question of what more can be done about the situation in Venezuela, the expert adds, “is on everyone’s mind.”

In addition to the presentation of the minutes, the IACHR, a principal and autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), advocates for continued monitoring of the situation on the ground and for intensifying engagement with human rights defenders there and civil society organizations.

The IACHR does not have the authority or mandate to demand a rerun of the elections. That does not mean, De Mees stresses, that it has been “very clear” in its expectations regarding respect for the political rights of Venezuelans.

From a personal point of view, she says she has hope and trusts that this message will reach Venezuelans.

“We must project and express to the Venezuelan population that we have hope and that the commission will maintain its monitoring mandate,” says the professor of Human Rights at the Anton de Kom University of Suriname.

De Mees believes that Venezuela’s structural problems have worsened, “not only in terms of volume but also in terms of the terror that is being perpetuated,” and reiterates his request that the international community continue to denounce this.

Whether at the bilateral or multilateral level through diplomatic channels, “the actions of the international community can have a great impact,” concludes the expert, emphasizing that the IACHR will not give up on its efforts to restore “democratic institutions and the rule of law” in Venezuela.