Q&A from civil society organizations
1. What is the Fact-Finding Mission?
An independent and rigorous scrutiny and investigation mechanism. The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela (FFMV) is an extraordinary mechanism created by the UN in 2019 to exercise scrutiny over and investigate serious human rights violations in Venezuela. Its work has been highly valued, and its continuity is considered necessary, which is why its mandate was renewed in 2020, 2022, and 2024 for two-year periods.
A mandate oriented toward victims and justice. The FFMV exists to help victims obtain justice and ensure that perpetrators are held accountable for human rights violations when no avenues exist to do so at the national level. Specifically, the FFMV investigates extrajudicial executions, arbitrary detentions, torture and other cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, enforced disappearances, and sexual and gender-based violence committed since 2014.
A source of reliable, regular, public information. The FFMV is made up of independent experts with extensive experience and knowledge of international law. It presents its work before the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva, allowing international scrutiny and participation by countries worldwide and civil society.
Identification of possible perpetrators. Between 2020 and 2026, the FFMV has identified several mid- and high-ranking perpetrators, chains of command within intelligence services and security forces, and a state policy against the civilian population considered dissident that would constitute crimes against humanity, including persecution on political grounds.
2. Why is it essential that the Mission be maintained until 2028?
The conditions that justify the FFMV’s existence remain more relevant than ever. The current context in Venezuela is volatile, and the social, humanitarian, and human rights situation remains concerning. Since the serious events of January 2026, some changes have materialized in the conduct of the Venezuelan government, but the policy of repression remains intact in its members, structures, and institutions. The June 24 earthquakes exposed the lack of protection for the Venezuelan population. Hundreds of people remain arbitrarily detained on political grounds; individuals identified as possible perpetrators of crimes against humanity, including some named by the FFMV, continue to hold positions of high power in government; and government efforts to evade justice at the national and international levels have deepened.
Evidence-based recommendations offer a verifiable roadmap. The continuity of the information provided by the FFMV will help guide the international community and actors within the country toward the reforms needed to ensure reparation and non-repetition of the human rights crisis the country has suffered for over a decade. Its analysis can also help the international community distinguish between announcements of cosmetic reforms and meaningful changes to government norms and policies.
Impunity breeds repetition. Efforts to guarantee a future in which human rights are protected in Venezuela must prioritize truth, justice, reparation, and guarantees of non-repetition for serious human rights violations and crimes under international law. The FFMV’s investigations, reports, and recommendations offer a unique body of work that guides the changes needed in the country. Its ongoing efforts to build case files and publicly identify individuals suspected of responsibility for crimes against humanity and other serious abuses are a key tool in this regard.
3. How do the FFMV and the work of the UN Human Rights Office and international justice mechanisms complement each other?
Technical assistance and monitoring in the country. The renewal of the FFMV’s mandate must be accompanied by the renewal of the monitoring and cooperation mandate held by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), as has been the case since 2020. These are two distinct, complementary, and necessary mechanisms. While the FFMV focuses on investigating serious human rights violations with a view to combating impunity and ensuring full accountability of perpetrators and justice for victims, providing robust public information, and offering structural guidance and recommendations, OHCHR monitors the human rights situation in its full scope and offers technical assistance to authorities, in addition to its usual public information work. The FFMV, like many other investigative mechanisms, has shown it can conduct robust investigations despite being denied access to the country. Still, pressure to allow it to visit must increase now more than ever. As distinct and necessary mandates, both teams must be able to enter the country and access victims, their families, and human rights defenders.
International justice mechanisms. Venezuela’s justice apparatus has been an instrument of systematic and widespread repression, including judges, prosecutors, and judicial personnel. In this context, international justice institutions play a vital role. The FFMV’s findings serve as input for judicial institutions that can attribute individual criminal responsibility and sanction those who have committed crimes under international law, including the International Criminal Court and certain national courts, such as in Argentina under the principle of universal jurisdiction.
4. How can the Mission contribute to Venezuela’s future?
Without structural change, deterrence and well-founded recommendations remain necessary. Venezuela faces an altered context, although the situation has not changed structurally. The international community must remain vigilant and demand systemic changes on human rights. Investigations and recommendations from the FFMV over the next two years are the best tool available to the international community to demand the changes needed to guarantee truth, justice, reparation, and guarantees of non-repetition.
Amid uncertainty, international scrutiny and debate must be assured. The situation in Venezuela is dynamic, and urgent, structural changes must be demanded. In this uncertain landscape, continued scrutiny and investigation by the FFMV and OHCHR over the next two years will ensure that the country’s human rights situation remains exposed and periodically debated among the UN, states, and civil society. This regularity and predictability provide a minimum floor of scrutiny for any progress that might materialize in the country.
5. Who is responsible for renewing the Mission?
A resolution adopted by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. The FFMV’s mandate originates from and is sustained by a decision of the HRC, made up of 47 member states. The renewal of its current mandate will need to be reflected in a new resolution approved by vote during its 63rd session, which will take place between September 7 and October 7, 2026.
Regional leadership with global support, grounded in principles and human rights. As with previous resolutions that maintained the FFMV’s mandate, states from the Americas continue to lead the push for its renewal. Since 2024, Argentina, Canada, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Paraguay, and Uruguay have driven this effort. This leadership should be backed by European Union member states and by African, Asian, and European countries committed to a future in which human rights are protected and guaranteed in Venezuela, including Bolivia, Brazil, Ghana, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritius, and Thailand.
Signed by:
Acceso a la Justicia
AlertaVenezuela
Amnesty International
Aula Abierta
Human Rights Center of the Andrés Bello Catholic University (CDH-UCAB)
Centro de Justicia y Paz (CEPAZ)
CIVICUS
CIVILIS
Committee of Family Members of Victims of the February–March 1989 Events (COFAVIC)
Espacio Público
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
Foro Penal
Due Process of Law Foundation (DPLF)
Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Human Rights Watch
International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
Venezuelan Education-Action Program on Human Rights (PROVEA)
Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center
Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA)
