International Amnesty published a statement, together with seven other international organizations defending human rights, where they demand that the government of Venezuela guarantees and respect for the right to freedom of expression, assembly and peaceful protest.
Venezuela is going through a delicate political crisis after the presidential elections held on Sunday where the doubt of fraud was raised regarding the results that gave the winner, once again, to Nicolas MaduroFrom there, demonstrators took to the streets to protest and demand a transparent democracy, which led to clashes that left 11 dead in the streets.
In this context, International Amnesty published a joint statement against seven human rights organizations in which they called on the authorities to guarantee the right to freedom of expression and protest. “The signatory organizations demand respect and guarantee of the right to freedom of expression and protest.” freedom of expressionpeaceful protest and assembly,” the statement said.
“We call on the authorities to refrain from criminalizing protest and to fully comply with international standards and norms on the use of force,” it said. In the meantime, they asked the authorities to avoid “the use of speeches that encourage and incite violence against people exercising their legitimate right to participate in peaceful demonstrations, as well as to avoid stigmatizing civil society organizations.”
Condemnation for the dead and the call to the world to speak out
Amnesty reported that the protests left 11 dead and 749 people arrested, according to the report. Attorney General Tarek William Saab“They are being accused of ‘violent acts’ and will be charged with crimes such as public incitement, obstruction of public roads, incitement to hatred, resistance to authority and, in the most serious cases, terrorism,” it details.
In addition, they called on the international community to demand respect for the civil and Political Rights of people in Venezuela, as well as “the international justice mechanisms, to remain alert to possible serious human rights violations in the context of the protests that have been taking place since July 28 and to include the documentation of said international crimes in the ongoing international justice mechanisms such as the Fact-Finding Mission of the UN wave International Criminal Court“.
In addition to Amnesty International, the signatory organizations include the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), CIVICUS, the International Commission of Jurists, Freedom House, the Global Center for the Responsibility to Protect, the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights.
The Carter Center’s findings
He Carter Center, one of the international institutes – in this case, of USA— who served as an observer for the presidential elections in Venezuela, He said that the electoral process that resulted in the winner being Nicolas Maduro for a third term he did not meet the requirements standards of democratic impartiality.
“The presidential election of Venezuela of 2024 did not conform to international parameters and standards of electoral integrity, and cannot be considered democratic,” said a statement from the Carter Center, whose special envoys to Venezuela supervised the elections.
On the other hand, he said he could not “verify or corroborate the authenticity From the results of the presidential election declared” by the CNE; and that the lack of results broken down by table “constitutes a serious violation of electoral principles.”
He also pointed out that both the international parameters as precepts of Venezuelan legislation, and that the elections took place “in an atmosphere of restricted freedoms to the detriment of political actors, civil society organizations and the media.”
Source: Ambito
