At the beginning of July, the Venezuelan organization PROMEDEHUM published the report “Defying the darkness. Resistance and Resilience of Civil Society in the Labyrinth of Venezuelan Authoritarianism”, in which it explores the conditions of human rights defenders in exile and civil society organizations in the country.
The report begins with some background data to understand the situation faced by defenders in the country. The most recent report from the High Commissioner for Human Rights warns that attacks on civil society do not stop. In this regard, the OHCHR documented between May 2023 and April 2024, “30 cases of threats and harassment, one attempted kidnapping, two cases of physical attacks, 38 cases of arbitrary detention (27 men and 11 women), as well as 13 cases of other forms of criminalization of civil society actors, including journalists, trade unionists, peasant leaders and other voices considered critical. According to the OHCHR, “the above figures indicate an increase compared to those previously reported.”
PROMEDEHUM`s report highlights that, although risks of defender organizations and individuals vary depending on their regional location, they are in dialogue with the cumulative impact of state repression. Not in vain did CIVICUS downgrade Venezuela to the category of “closed” country last year. The organization reports a “progressive suspension of fundamental civic freedoms, leaving civil society more vulnerable,” which is combined with the continuous damage of a complex humanitarian emergency.
The findings of a study based on 33 interviews according to various criteria are shown. When exploring the reasons for leaving the country, “63.3% of people expressed having left due to “harassment, persecution or harassment” and 30.3% mentioned “fear of possible persecution in the future.” Regarding refuge, “54.5% of people requested refuge, but only 38.9% obtained refugee status. 5.6% were rejected and 55.6% are waiting for a response. The maximum waiting time has been 8 years.” In this regard, the Interagency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants of Venezuela (R4V) estimated that, by June 2023, there were 1,184,889 pending applications for refugee status and only 300,759 Venezuelan people were recognized refugees. Regarding medical needs, “60.6% have physical medical needs and 45.5% have emotional medical needs.”
While defenders leave the country like other people, “the effects on them have particularities and are comparable to other violent dynamics. Among the effects observed in the interviews are depression, insecurity, mistrust, anxiety and uprooting.” Therefore, the persecution has had a serious impact on defenders.
Another finding precisely refers to the experience of fear in the host country. Among the documented reasons, in addition to cases of violence and xenophobia, stand out “the threats by alleged members of the Venezuelan and transnational criminal gang “El Tren de Aragua”, the accusations and threats by Venezuelan officials in the host country and the presence of possible Venezuelan intelligence officials.” The study points to a fear derived from the “transnational damage capacity” of the Venezuelan regime, which corresponds to the complaints and cases about officials operating illegally in other territories, and to which we have dedicated a previous analysis.
Despite these elements, it is reported that “some host countries are reluctant to grant asylum to fleeing activists, reflecting broader challenges for those getting away from persecution.” Defenders and journalists in exile face vulnerabilities not only from Venezuela, such as limited access to identity documents and loss of income, but in receiving countries, such as difficulties in finding employment. If host countries are not prepared to provide international protection to these types of profiles, then these conditions of vulnerability get worsen and new challenges that are relevant to all parties arise.
It is fundamental that States, with the support of international cooperation organizations, humanitarian organizations, donors and multilateral entities for the protection of human rights, coordinately take the necessary provisions to care for defenders, recognizing them as people in need of international protection who require appropriate and effective measures. Amid an electoral context that is approaching July 28, it is foreseeable that repression may continue to grow, and with it, the number of people fleeing the country for political reasons.