What changed

European Parliament resolution on the situation in Venezuela

P10_TA(2024)0013

(2024/2810(RSP))

Situation in Venezuela

PE762.607

European Parliament resolution of 19 September 2024 on the situation in Venezuela (2024/2810(RSP))

The European Parliament,

A. whereas on 28 July 2024, a presidential election was held in Venezuela to choose a president for a six-year term beginning on 10 January 2025; whereas this election would have represented a unique opportunity to move from a corrupt autocracy towards a return to democracy if all the items of the Barbados Agreement had been respected;

✦ Formal Replaces the decimal point with a comma in the number 7.7 million.

B. whereas Nicolás Maduro’s regime has continually harassed, persecuted and censored activists, journalists and civil society organisations in the midst of an ongoing socio-economic, political and humanitarian crisis marked by hyperinflation, escalating starvation, disease, huge levels of corruption, crime and impunity, flagrant violations of human rights and high mortality rates, which have resulted in the mass emigration of more than 7.77,7 million Venezuelans seeking to escape the tyranny; whereas there are significant shortages in public services and it is increasingly difficult for Venezuelans to access food and medicines; whereas this crisis is one of the largest displacement crises in the world;

C. whereas for years, the use of politically motivated arbitrary detentions has been part of a policy of repression implemented by the Maduro regime and of a widespread and systematic attack against the population of Venezuela; whereas there have been systematic restrictions on public information, freedom of opinion and expression and the right to peaceful assembly, particularly for dissidents of the regime, trade unionists, human rights defenders and the most vulnerable members of society;

D. whereas on 17 October 2023 in Venezuela, representatives of the Maduro regime and the Unitary Platform opposition alliance signed two agreements, known as the Barbados Agreements, which cover matters including the promotion of political rights, electoral guarantees for all, respect for the right of each political actor to choose their candidate for the presidential elections freely, and the release of political prisoners; whereas these agreements covered important topics such as allowing international observers to participate in the electoral process; whereas the agreements were signed to serve as a first step to ensure free and fair elections in Venezuela; whereas political prisoners have not been not released, despite this being an explicit condition of the Barbados Agreement;

✦ Formal Replaces decimal points with commas in percentages 92.35 and 67.08.

E. whereas María Corina Machado was elected as the candidate of the opposition to the regime at the primaries of the Unitary Platform in 2023 with 92.3592,35 % of the vote; whereas the Maduro regime disqualified her from standing for election on arbitrary and politically motivated grounds, in a flagrant breach of the Barbados Agreement; whereas the Maduro regime has disqualified several other opposition politicians over the years to prevent political change; whereas upon her disqualification, María Corina Machado maintained the unity of the democratic opposition to the regime by supporting a new candidate, Corina Yoris, who in turn was not authorised to register; whereas Edmundo González Urrutia was ultimately the candidate of the democratic opposition to the regime;

✦ Formal Replaces the decimal point with a comma in the number 7.7 million.

F. whereas in the lead-up to the election, the regime tirelessly persecuted, abducted, arrested and imprisoned activists of the opposition and the campaign team of the opposition leader María Corina Machado and presidential candidate Edmundo González, and criminalised the work of lawyers, human rights defenders and civil society actors; whereas numerous electoral irregularities and violations were reported, including the disqualification of around 16 political parties, barriers to the registration of presidential candidates, short voter registration deadlines and a lack of registration offices, minimal public information, and obstruction of oversees voters; whereas according to the figures provided by the regime, only 69 211 Venezuelans living abroad were able to register to vote, although it is estimated that half of the 7.77,7 million Venezuelans living abroad are of voting age;

G. whereas since 20 March 2024, six close collaborators of Vente Venezuela have sought refuge in the Argentinian embassy in Caracas, where they continue to face increasing pressure and harassment by the Venezuelan security forces;

K. whereas after voting closed, the regime-controlled CNE refused to publish the official record of tally sheets and falsified the results of the election, announcing the false victory of Maduro, which constitutes a serious breach of electoral principles; whereas this meant that the international community could not verify or corroborate the results announced by the CNE; whereas the CNE’s results management process therefore fell short of the basic transparency and integrity measures that are essential for holding credible elections;

✦ Formal Replaces decimal points with commas in percentages 83.5 and 67.08.

L. whereas the democratic opposition to the regime managed to obtain 83.583,5 % of the official tally sheets and has credibly demonstrated that the winner of the election was Edmundo González Urrutia, with 67.0867,08 % of the votes cast; whereas the interim report of the UN Panel of Experts on the election confirms the authenticity of the documents published by the opposition;

✦ Wording Shortens the sentence about non-recognition of the election, removing reference to authorities and recognition by other countries.

M. whereas the EU and other democratic countries and regional and international organisations have not recognised the election, its outcomeelection or the authorities put in place by the illegitimate process; whereas the United States and several Latin American countries have recognised González as the winner of theits election;outcome;

N. whereas in the aftermath of the election, peaceful protests took place across the country to contest the fraudulent display by the Maduro regime; whereas these protests were met with extreme violence and repression, resulting in over 23 deaths and over 2 400 arrests and enforced disappearances, including of approximately 120 children;

Q. whereas in mid-August the Venezuelan regime expelled the diplomatic missions of seven Latin American nations – Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay – that had expressed concerns over the announced results;

✦ Replaces the recognition of González as president with a demand for full voting results and respect for the election results.

1. Recognises Edmundo González Urrutia as the legitimate and democratically elected President of Venezuela; also recognises María Corina Machado as the leader of the democratic forces in Venezuela, since she was elected at the primaries of the Unitary Platform in 2023 with 92.35 % of the vote;

1. Demands that Venezuela’s electoral authorities release full, transparent and detailed voting results, including results per polling station; calls on the Venezuelan authorities to respect the election results and the will of the Venezuelan people;

✦ Moves the recognition of González and Machado from paragraph 1 to paragraph 2, changing the addressee from the EU to Parliament itself.

2. UrgesRecognises Edmundo González Urrutia as the EUlegitimate and itsdemocratically Memberelected StatesPresident toof recogniseVenezuela; Edmundoalso Gonzálezrecognises UrrutiaMaría Corina Machado as the legitimateleader andof democraticallythe democratic forces in Venezuela, since she was elected Presidentat the primaries of Venezuela;the Unitary Platform in 2023 with 92,35 % of the vote;

3. Calls for the EU and its Member States to do their utmost to ensure that the legitimate and democratically elected president can take office on 10 January 2025, in accordance with the Venezuelan Constitution;

7. Reiterates that respecting the will of the Venezuelan people, as expressed in the election, remains the only way for Venezuela to restore democracy, allow for a peaceful and genuine transition and solve the current humanitarian and socio-economic crisis;

✦ Adds a new paragraph welcoming the role of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, and supporting international efforts; renumbers the condemnation paragraph.

8. Condemns in the strongest possible terms the murders, harassment, violations and arrests that have been perpetrated against the democratic opposition to the regime, the Venezuelan people and civil society; calls for an end to the systematic pattern of human rights violations; demands the immediate and unconditional release of all politically and arbitrarily detained persons, including foreign and EU nationals, as well as that compensation be provided to them and their families, while restoring their full civil and political rights; demands that the Maduro regime cease its policy of repression and attacks on civil society and the opposition;

8. Underlines and welcomes the role that the Governments of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico are playing; supports all the efforts being made by the international community to find a peaceful, inclusive and democratic solution to the enduring Venezuelan crisis; supports the efforts made by Venezuela’s neighbouring countries to deal with the large number of refugees fleeing Venezuela;

9. Condemns in the strongest possible terms the murders, harassment, violations and arrests that have been perpetrated against the democratic opposition to the regime, the Venezuelan people and civil society; calls for an end to the systematic pattern of human rights violations; demands the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners and arbitrarily detained persons, and that compensation be provided to them and their families, while restoring their full civil and political rights; demands that the Maduro government cease its policy of repression and attacks on civil society and the opposition;

10. Fully supports the investigations of the ICC and the UN Independent Fact-Finding Mission into the Venezuelan regime’s extensive crimes and acts of repression and calls for the EU to support the investigations currently being considered under the Rome Statute into the alleged crimes against humanity, in order to hold those responsible to account;

11. Calls on the UN Human Rights Council to adopt, at its 57th session (9 September to 9 October 2024), a resolution renewing the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela and the presence of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Venezuela; calls for the immediate return of the OHCHR to Venezuela and urges Venezuela to ensure that the necessary conditions are in place for the OHCHR to fully exercise its mandate;

✦ Changes the call for an ICC arrest warrant to a call for the ICC to include violations in its investigations and hold those responsible to account.

11.12. Calls foron the EUICC andto itsinclude Memberthe Statesongoing tohuman requestrights anviolations internationaland arrestarbitrary warrantdetentions forin Nicolásits Maduroinvestigations forinto alleged crimes against humanity, on the basishumanity ofcommitted allby the graveMaduro violationsregime, ofand humanto rightshold hethose hasresponsible committed;to account;

✦ Adds a new paragraph condemning the arrest warrant for González and highlighting Spain's decision to welcome him.

13. Strongly condemns the Venezuelan Government’s issuance of an arrest warrant for Edmundo González; highlights the Spanish Government’s decision to welcome Mr González in Spain with the aim of granting him political asylum upon his request, which will make it possible to protect him as well as to maintain a viable perspective for a resolution to the political impasse;

14. Recalls that in May 2024, the EU lifted its sanctions against members of the CNE, as a gesture of goodwill; underlines that this action did not produce any positive effect; calls on the VP/HR and the Council to reinstate these sanctions against the members of the CNE; calls further for the sanctions on the regime to be prolonged and their scope extended in order to apply targeted sanctions through the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime against Nicolás Maduro and his inner circle, including Jorge Rodríguez, their families, and all those responsible for violations of human rights in the country;