Three months have passed since the presidential election in Venezuela and a feeling of exhaustion is beginning to be observed, as if the options for respect and recognition of popular sovereignty were exhausted.
For several weeks, the United Nations system clearly had Venezuela on its radar. There were statements from the Secretary General’s spokesperson, warnings from Guterres himself and even a phone call between him and Maduro. In addition, there is no doubt that Guterres’ decision to publish the interim report of the panel of experts that the UN deployed in Venezuela for the election had an enormous impact in countering the official narrative with which the repressors try to present themselves as victims.
From AlertaVenezuela we have warned that the publication of the interim report of the panel of experts cannot be the only or the last move of the UN on this complex board. We have proposed the formation of an independent international mechanism that proceeds to the verification of the results of July 28, as a consequent step, derived from the publication of the report of the panel of experts. Furthermore, a preliminary report is a first step towards the final and conclusive report. If the first one was released, the second one must be published.
On the other hand, since 2022, AlertaVenezuela has been suggesting the idea that the political bodies of the United Nations in Venezuela carry out an exploratory consultation on the relevance of the appointment of a special envoy of the Secretary General, as a first step towards moving towards a more active role of the organization in the face of the political-institutional crisis in the country.
Although the 2019-2021 period seemed more opportune to lay the foundations for the creation of this figure, it is not an option that can be ruled out today, insofar as all efforts must be exhausted to avoid further trauma to the Venezuelan population. Reputational risk cannot become the deterrent on a more proactive attitude by SG Guterres in the Venezuelan conflict, as much more is at stake.
Mechanisms such as the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) have done their job. The latest FFM report is an invaluable contribution from the UN human rights system to understanding the scope of the repression used by those who hold power in Venezuela to try to silence those who demand respect for the popular will expressed on July 28. The Secretary General must forward this report to the political bodies to generate a dialogue that breaks the artificial separation between the political spaces in New York and the human rights bodies in Geneva.
What happened on the night of July 28 was a gross disregard for a human right with tremendous repercussions in the political sphere. Consequently, it is essential to explore the connection between both spheres and the international community must aim towards this, together with the establishment of an independent verification mechanism of the electoral results and the exploration of the figure of a special envoy. There is still time for prevention.