Programa Venezolano de Educación y Acción en Derechos Humanos (Provea)

Cases
Location of case in SG report
2019-112-010
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 organization
Was the victim a foreign national?
No
Was the victim a minor?
No
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
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?
3
In which SG report was this case followed up on? 0
2020
Follow up information provided in SG report 0
  1. The case of the Programa Venezolano de Educación y Acción en Derechos Humanos (Provea), a civil society organization which has regularly engaged with the UN, was included in the 2019 report of the Secretary-General, following its cooperation with OHCHR’s March 2019 visit to Venezuela (A/HRC/42/30, Annex I, para. 115). On 11 July 2019, following the release of OHCHR’s report, a high-level Government official rejected the report on his Twitter account and stated that Provea was one of the report’s sources. He encouraged the National Constituent Assembly to “legislate without fear the work of NGOs in Venezuela,” to “determine the origin of their funding,” and their “false pro-human rights missions.”
  2. Further, on 19 February 2020, the President of the National Constituent Assembly (NCA) announced in the weekly public television programme “Con el Mazo Dando” that the NCA would initiate a revision of laws on foreign funding of NGOs and private individuals, specifically referring to Provea. This public reference to Provea was made a week before the beginning of the 43rd session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, where Provea’s participation was made known on social media. (see also A/HRC/39/41, Annex I, para. 120).
Followup Trends 0
Deterioration/further reprisals
Did the government respond? 0
No
In which SG report was this case followed up on? 1
2022
Follow up information provided in SG report 1

According to information received by OHCHR, during the reporting period several NGOs and their staff included in previous reports have continued to be exposed to on-line attacks and stigmatization from Government-affiliated online portals in connection with or following their cooperation with the UN. The NGOs concerned are Provea, the Observatorio Venezolano de Conflictividad Social (OVCS) and Foro Penal. These NGOs have been portrayed as conspiring against the country, encouraging an agenda of aggression against the country, and of publishing false accusations.

Followup Trends 1
Deterioration/further reprisals
Did the government respond? 1
No