Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela concludes field visit near the border with Venezuela

PANAMA CITY (25 July 2022) - Members of the International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela have conducted a field mission to areas near the border with Venezuela, the most recent of various field missions undertaken by the Mission team in 2022. The exact location of the Mission’s visit is being kept confidential for security reasons.

During the visit, the Mission’s experts met with Venezuelan refugees, including victims and witnesses of human rights violations and abuses, and visited refugee shelters near Venezuelan borders. The testimonies gathered during the present and past visits will feed into the Mission’s ongoing investigations of the country’s human rights situation since 2014.

The experts heard stories about individuals and communities, including indigenous peoples, who have been forced to leave their homes and change their “life projects” in response to various human rights violations. These testimonies describe the acute suffering of Venezuelans in the context of multilayered violence related to the control over natural resources in the country.

The experts are grateful for the support received by host authorities, as well as United Nations agencies and civil society organizations for their assistance in preparing this border visit. The Mission commends their work as it contributes to alleviating the suffering of thousands of people forced to flee their homes in Venezuela who yearn to be able to return. With this visit, the Fact-Finding Mission hopes to draw attention to the dire humanitarian situation in which many Venezuelans, particularly those most vulnerable, continue to live.

The Fact-Finding Mission urges all governments, particularly those of countries bordering Venezuela, to safeguard the rights granted to those who have fled Venezuela and to strive toward improving their situation, ensuring them a dignified life outside of their home country.

The UN Human Rights Council mandates the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to investigate serious human rights violations in Venezuela since 2014. The Mission will present its next report in September 2022 at the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

For further information, contact ohchr-ffmvenezuela@un.org.