The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission says the drive has performed a central position in systematic repression since 2014, entrenching impunity and violating primary rights.
“The info we have now documented present the position of the GNB in a sample of systematic and coordinated repression in opposition to opponents or these perceived as such, which has continued for greater than a decade,” mentioned Marta Valiñas, the Mission’s Chair.
“The persistence of those crimes and the absence of sufficient justice require a decided response from nationwide and worldwide accountability mechanisms.”
Excessive drive
The GNB used extreme drive, together with the improper use of deadly weapons, throughout peak durations of protest in 2014, 2017, 2019, and 2024.
The Mission mentioned it has affordable grounds to consider that officers fired indiscriminately on protestors, together with aiming instantly at important areas on the physique.
Investigators additionally obtained data relating to projectiles being modified to trigger better hurt.
They additionally documented mass and focused arbitrary detentions, bodily violence throughout arrests, planting of proof, torture, and sexual and gender-based violence inside GNB services that had been used as short-term detention centres.
Pattern of abuse
“The torture, ill-treatment, and acts of sexual violence we have now verified – together with assaults and rape – weren’t remoted incidents. They kind a part of a sample of abuse used to punish and break victims,” mentioned Ms. Valiñas.
The report discovered the GNB was a central actor within the fee of persecution on political grounds, which is against the law in opposition to humanity.
The navy drive additionally performed a key position within the 2024 post-election “Operation Tun Tun” (Spanish for “knock, knock”) raids that sought to goal and criminalise opponents via unfounded accusations of terrorism or incitement to hatred.
Structural impunity and systemic failures
The report identifies what the Mission described as “a sample of structural impunity sustained by systemic failures inside the Venezuelan judicial system, revealing its lack of ability or unwillingness to analyze or prosecute violations dedicated by the GNB.”
This is additional characterised by stalled investigations, extended procedural paralysis, manipulation of proof, deliberate obstruction by the GNB, and accountability that’s completely restricted to low-ranking personnel.
The report incorporates an in-depth evaluation of the interior operational buildings of the department, together with its chain of command.
It additionally particulars how Venezuela’s “nationwide safety” doctrine has merged navy and police features, thus legitimising the militarization of public safety and increasing the GNB’s position in operations aimed toward social management and inside repression.
About the Fact-Finding Mission
The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela was established by the UN Human Rights Council in September 2019 to evaluate alleged violations dedicated within the nation since 2014.
Over the previous yr, it has additionally centered on investigating the human rights scenario surrounding the disputed 2024 presidential elections and on violence by pro-government militias often known as “colectivos”.
The Mission consists of three members who obtain their mandate from the Human Rights Council, which relies in Geneva. They usually are not UN workers and don’t obtain fee for his or her work.
