Despite mounting evidence of the Nicolás Maduro regime’s crimes against humanity in Venezuela, the international organizations tasked with addressing human rights violations have largely failed to act. This failure is an embarrassment to the international rule of law, and more importantly, is an inexcusable injustice to the many victims of such crimes. Fortunately, it is not too late for the international community to pursue legal action. Only by acting quickly to hold the Maduro regime accountable, however, can the international liberal order reassert its authority and legitimacy.
By News Week – Ivana Stradner and Ryan Berg
Aug 4, 2021
Venezuelan security and intelligence agencies routinely target those whom the Maduro regime considers a threat to its survival, and subjects them to arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial executions and torture. According to Human Rights Watch, between 2016 and 2019, authorities executed around 20,000 individuals for alleged “resistance to authority.” Of particular concern are the actions of Maduro’s so-called Special Actions Force, which stands accused of killing thousands of citizens over the past several years, often going to great lengths to falsify evidence to justify their use of violence.
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet detailed in a recent report the regularity with which abuse and torture continue to be used to intimidate and repress Venezuela’s political opposition. Conditions show no signs of improving, and the report also notes that the lack of journalistic freedom in Venezuela severely hinders the ability to document these abuses.
In addition to the Maduro regime, criminal organizations in Venezuela operate within a permissive environment that exacerbates human rights abuses. Colombian guerrillas, Iranian-linked terrorists and a host of unsavory non-state actors have taken refuge in the country, which contributes to an epidemic of kidnapping, child soldiery, sexual violence and forced labor. Often, the Maduro regime leverages these groups as instruments of state power.
The organization with the clearest mandate to address the Maduro regime’s crimes is the International Criminal Court (ICC). The former chief prosecutor of the ICC Fatou Bensouda once promised to launch an investigation into Venezuelan crimes against humanity, and in 2018, Argentina, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay and Peru implored Bensouda to initiate proceedings. Nevertheless, the ICC neglected to pursue charges against any member of the Venezuelan government.
As a result, the Organization of American States reprimanded the ICC in 2020 for failing to investigate the Maduro regime. Bensouda responded by admitting that there was a “reasonable basis” to believe reports of Venezuelan crimes, but she carefully avoided making any concrete decisions about an investigation.
Bensouda’s days at the head of the ICC are now over, clearing the way for the new chief prosecutor Karim Khan to open an investigation. He must reject his predecessor’s penchant for dithering, as well as the Maduro regime’s many desperate attempts to delay, and swiftly begin the process of prosecuting Venezuelan officials for atrocities.
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Read More: News Week – The international legal system is broken. Taking on Venezuela could fix it | Opinion
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