UN Mission for Venezuela Cautiously Welcomes Amnesty Bill
The UN fact-finding mission expressed concern over the absence of public consultations in drafting the Amnesty bill.
HAVANA TIMES – The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Venezuela on Monday cautiously welcomed the National Assembly’s preliminary approval of the Amnesty Bill, noting that it could help restore the “political fabric,” but warning that it risks not benefiting all political prisoners.
“An amnesty law offers an opportunity to provide justice and alleviate the suffering of the many people who have been unlawfully detained for political reasons in Venezuela,” mission expert Alex Neve acknowledged in a statement, stressing that the law’s impact will depend on its transparent application grounded in human rights.
Maria Eloísa Quintero, also a member of the mission, expressed concern that the amnesty could be granted only for political crimes, “leaving out other forms of criminalization, such as civil, administrative, labor, or disciplinary.”
“A limited-scope amnesty risks excluding numerous people persecuted for political reasons and does not, by itself, guarantee the full restoration of their rights,” she warned.
The mission explained that, as currently drafted, the law might not apply to individuals who have been charged or convicted of crimes that appear non-political, such as offenses against public assets.
The mission, chaired since its creation in 2019 by Portuguese expert Marta Valiñas, also voiced concern about the lack of public consultations in preparing the bill, stating that a transparent process is necessary, “with meaningful participation from victims, their families, and civil society.”
It also stressed that the Amnesty Law must be accompanied by other structural reforms to “dismantle the legal framework and practices that have enabled persecution for political reasons, in order to prevent new arbitrary detentions and other human rights violations.”
The Amnesty Law contemplates the release of political prisoners detained from 1999 to the present, a period covering the years of Chavista governments, and excludes those prosecuted or convicted for homicide, drug trafficking, and human rights violations.
Published in Spanish by Efecto Cocuyo and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.