Yendri Velásquez

Cases
Location of case in SG report
2025-152-001
Relevant SG report
Year of the report
2025
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
  • UN Treaty Bodies: CERD
Dates of prior UN action
6-7 August 2024; 20 August 2024; 19 December 2024;
Type of record
Named individual
Gender
Male
Was the victim a foreign national?
No
Was the victim a minor?
No
Individual's/organization's activity

a human rights defender and coordinator of a civil society organization defending the rights of LGBTIQ+ persons, who was prevented from attending the review.

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

a human rights defender and coordinator of a civil society organization defending the rights of LGBTIQ+ persons, who was prevented from attending the review.

Engagement with UN body
  • UN Treaty Bodies: CERD
Dates of engagement
6-7 August 2024
Type of attempted engagement
  • Participation in meeting on UN premises
Dates of mentioned reprisals
3 August 2024
Location of mentioned reprisals
Caracas
Reprisal information

on 3 August 2024, Mr. Velásquez was detained for several hours at Caracas airport, while en route to Geneva to participate in the review and that his passport, along with those of other human rights defenders, had been cancelled (CERD/C/VEN/CO/22-24, para 6).

Types of reprisals suffered
  • Travel restriction
Alleged/likely perpetrators
State actors
Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
No
Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
No
Further case development
  1. On 6 and 7 August 2024, during the consideration of the combined 22nd and 23rd periodic review of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination expressed serious concern regarding allegations it had received of reprisals and intimidation for cooperation with the Committee. The Committee inquired specifically about the case of Mr. Yendri Velásquez, a human rights defender and coordinator of a civil society organization defending the rights of LGBTIQ+persons, who was prevented from attending the review. In this connection, the Committee underscored the United Nations’ zero-tolerance policy on reprisals, and regretted that the State party’s delegation had not provided further information on his case during the review (CERD/C/SR.3081, paras 7, 26 and 70 and CERD/C/SR.3082, paras 20 and 63). In response to a separate incident involving the apparent unauthorized taking of photographs and/or video recording in the room, the Chair reminded participants of the established policy prohibiting the capture of images or videos of representatives of Non-Governmental Organizations present in the room and urged full compliance with this policy throughout the dialogue.
  2. In its concluding observations of 20 August 2024, the Committee addressed the case of Mr. Velásquez and noted that, on 3 August 2024, Mr. Velásquez was detained for several hours at Caracas airport, while en route to Geneva to participate in the review and that his passport, along with those of other human rights defenders, had been cancelled (CERD/C/VEN/CO/22-24, para 6). The Committee expressed broader concern about reports of intimidation and reprisals against human rights defenders and civil society representatives and the chilling effect such actions had on their participation in meetings with the Committee. The Committee urged the State party to act with due diligence and take effective measures to prevent all acts of harassment, intimidation, and threats directed at human rights defenders and civil society representatives for having cooperated with the Committee, and to conduct thorough investigations into such allegations. The Committee requested the State party to provide detailed information, by 20 August 2025, on the investigations into the allegations of Mr. Velásquez’s arbitrary detention, as part of its follow up procedure. (CERD/C/VEN/CO/22-24, paras 6 and 7 (a-c))
  3. On 19 December 2024, special procedure mandate holders addressed Mr. Velásquez’s case and expressed concern over the alleged arbitrary cancellation of the passport of Mr. Yendri and of other human rights defenders (VEN 12/2024).