Liliana Ortega

Cases
Location of case in SG report
2019-112-007
Relevant SG report
Year of the report
2019
Country Geolocation

Latitude: 6.42375

Longitude: -66.58973

Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
Venezuela
From Region
UN body that raised the case prior to the SG report
  • OHCHR: OHCHR - General
Dates of prior UN action
Unclear
Type of record
Named individual
Gender
Female
Was the victim a foreign national?
No
Was the victim a minor?
No
Individual's/organization's activity

of Comité de Familiares de Víctimas de los Sucesos de Febrero-Marzo de 1989 (COFAVIC)

Type of rights defended
  • Unclear in SG Report
Was the victim a civil servant or member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
No
Reported trigger of reprisal

individuals and organizations who had cooperated with OHCHR during their visit

Engagement with UN body
  • OHCHR: OHCHR - General
Dates of engagement
Between 11 and 22 March 2019
Type of attempted engagement
  • Meeting with UN officials during country visit / with locally present UN officials
Dates of mentioned reprisals
25 March 2019
Reprisal information

On 25 March 2019, following the oral update of the High Commissioner, 104 disparaging statements were made on the pro-government news portal Aporrea against individuals and organizations who had cooperated with OHCHR during their visit; labelled as financed by foreign interests and accused of disseminating false information.

Types of reprisals suffered
  • Defamation / Defamation campaign
Alleged/likely perpetrators
Non-state actor(s)
Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
No
Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
No
Was the case raised by a State at the UN?
Yes
Which State raised the case at the UN and when?

BENELUX; June 2020 HRC 43 resumed; Item 5? ("Medical personnel, human rights defenders and members of students’ movements in Venezuela who cooperated with OHCHR during its first visit to the country in March 2019.")

Is the country cited for a "pattern of reprisal" in the context of this case?
No
Is a pattern of reprisals mentioned otherwise in the context of this case?
No
Does the report cite "self-censorship" as an issue in the context of this case?
No
How many times has the case been followed up in subsequent SG reports?
1
In which SG report was this case followed up on? 0
2021
Follow up information provided in SG report 0

On 9 November 2020, special procedures mandate holders raised concerns about high-ranking State officials’ public and social media stigmatization of NGOs, which they said appeared to be acts of reprisals for their cooperation with the UN, including the FFM (VEN 10/2020). On 24 September 2020, the online portal Misión Verdad (Mission Truth) released an article titled “Dismantling the report of the ‘Independent Fact-Finding Mission in Venezuela’: the sources.” The article named five NGO sources for the report and two of its directors: Comité de Familiares de Víctimas del Caracazo (COFAVIC); Observatorio Venezolano de Conflictividad Social (OVCS); Centro de Justicia y Paz (CEPAZ); Control Ciudadano (and its director Ms. Rocío San Miguel); and Espacio Público (and its director Mr. Carlos Correa). 116. The article accused the NGOs of “participat[ing] in this compilation of unsupported accusations,” and receiving foreign funding “to destabilize the country”. The article also reportedly featured a photograph of Ms. Liliana Ortega Mendoza, Co-Founder of COFAVIC, whose case was included in the 2019 report of the Secretary-General (A/HRC/42/30, para. 81 and Annex I, para.115). The information was shared on Twitter by the Minister of Foreign Affairs (VEN 10/2020). Subsequently, Government officials have made similar public remarks against members of civil society, including through institutional media channels and official websites.71

Followup Trends 0
Stayed same
Date of follow up 0
September 2021
Did the government respond? 0
Yes
Was this case followed up by a UN body? 0
  • UN Special Procedures: Thematic