Justice for Venezuela
As reported in the Guardian last week, “more than 4 million Venezuelans have now fled economic and humanitarian chaos in what the UN’s refugee agency called a “staggering” exodus that has swelled by 1 million people since last November alone.” As mentioned in the South American Newsletter,
Amnesty International produced two reports and is focussing two campaigns on Venezuela.
Amnesty has called on the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean not toimpose barriers that hinder the entry of those fleeing the crisis or to return anyone to Venezuela given the risk they run of suffering human rights violations. There is an online petition that you can sign here.
In the second report (Hunger for Justice), Amnesty highlight the selective extrajudicial executions, arbitrary detentions, and deaths and injuries caused by the excessive use of force by Maduro’s government. This has been part of a systematic and widespread policy of repression since at least 2017 and may constitute crimes against humanity. Amnesty International has called for a vigorous response from the international justice system. There is an online petition for this too – sign here.
At our meeting on Thursday we will write to the Venezuelan authorities about the fate and whereabouts of Gilber Caro, an opposition member of the National Assembly. He was reported to have been taken away by intelligence officers on 26 April 2019 while he was at a restaurant in Caracas. Nothing has been heard of him since… |
