For more than half a decade, the Global Centre has been at the forefront of civil society efforts to drive international action on crimes against humanity occurring in Venezuela. By working in close partnership with Venezuelan civil society organizations and human rights defenders, the Global Centre has advocated for UN investigations into crimes against humanity in Venezuela and mobilize cross-regional support for a coordinated response to the country’s multidimensional crisis through an atrocity prevention lens.

Sustained Advocacy for the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela

In 2019 the Global Centre launched an extensive advocacy campaign ahead of the UN Human Rights Council’s (HRC) 42^nd session. The goal was to establish an HRC-mandated investigative mechanism to document atrocity crimes in Venezuela and identify perpetrators. This campaign included:

• • • Confidential briefings for more than 40 cross-regional states.
    • Joint NGO policy briefs and extensive bilateral advocacy in Geneva and capitals.
    • A public HRC side event organized with Venezuelan human rights defenders.

These efforts were instrumental in the adoption of a resolution in September 2019 that established the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela (FFM). The FFM was mandated to investigate serious human rights violations and contribute to accountability for victims.

Following the establishment of the FFM, the Global Centre has sustained its advocacy efforts to ensure the renewal of the FFM’s mandate. This includes through regular engagement with foreign ministries, regional bodies such as the European Union, and many cross-regional delegations in Geneva. As a result of these efforts, the FFM’s mandate was successfully renewed in 2020 and 2022, ensuring sustained international attention towards the crisis and investigations into atrocity crimes in Venezuela.

In 2024 the Global Centre’s Geneva Representative traveled to Caracas, engaging with cross-regional embassies and senior UN officials to bolster support for the FFM. This advocacy was crucial in security the FFM’s renewal for another two years in September 2024.

Supporting Venezuelan Human Rights Defenders

In addition to mobilizing political support for the FFM’s mandate renewal, the Global Centre has regularly engaged with members of the FFM to ensure that investigations are as effective as possible. The Chair of the FFM, Marta Valiñas, has also spoken at various Global Centre events focusing on HRC-mandated investigative mechanisms in atrocity prevention, including our annual training workshop for diplomats on HRC investigative mechanisms and a March 2022 event on institutionalizing a gender lens in HRC investigative mechanisms.

The Global Centre has also consistently supported open letters, public appeals and calls to action as part of a large coalition of Venezuelan, regional and international civil society organizations with the aim of revitalizing international engagement on Venezuela’s crisis. The Global Centre also routinely facilitates connections between Venezuelan human rights defenders and Geneva-based diplomats.

The Global Centre’s Venezuela expert, Elisabeth Pramendorfer, has been a prominent voice on Venezuela’s atrocity crisis, speaking at public events and HRC side events. Her contributions have focused on several key issues, including:

• • • The role of women and gender dimensions of Venezuela’s crisis.
    • The lack of cooperation by Venezuela with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
    • The relevance of the FFM and OHCHR in documenting atrocity crimes, including the significance of FFM findings for ICC proceedings.
    • The linkage between Venezuela’s human rights and humanitarian crisis.

Our Venezuela Expert has also been interviewed and featured on a series of podcasts addressing Venezuela’s ongoing crisis, including by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the “State of Venezuela.” Elisabeth Pramendorfer has also published a series of articles on the impact and importance of ongoing investigations by the FFM, as well as how its work should be used by UN member states to prevent recurrence of atrocity crimes.

Contributions to Regional Atrocity Prevention

In 2024 the Global Centre published an Occasional Paper that examined atrocity risks across Latin America and the Caribbean, focusing on the situations in Venezuela, Nicaragua and El Salvador. The paper provided detailed analysis of successes and failures in identifying warning signs of atrocity risks in Venezuela and regional and multilateral responses to the country’s multidimensional crisis. The paper concluded with recommendations for governments in the region to strengthen their atrocity prevention capacities, as well as identify gaps and opportunities to address atrocity risks in their own country.