In view of the announcement of the signing of the new framework that will govern the United Nations Cooperation in Venezuela for the period 2023-2026, agreed between the National Executive and the Office of the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations in the country, the civil organizations signing this communiqué express our concern for the striking deficiencies and omissions in this document.

The agreement, in the first place, makes no mention of the socio-political context in which such cooperation will take place, nor does it disclose the basis or scope of consultations with civil society or other interested actors. In a country where the complex humanitarian emergency is not only continuing but deepening, it is imperative and responsible to consider the social and political conflict as the reason of the emergency. The present cooperation framework should not be instrumentalized to normalize this crisis.

The document, secondly, does not respect the foundations and contents of the Sustainable Development Agenda. The United Nations cooperation frameworks are the most important instrument available to that organization for the planning, coordination and implementation of actions for the development and promotion of the 2030 Agenda, commitments made by member states at the United Nations in 2015 and which establish a set of 17 goals, targets and indicators to advance in overcoming challenges facing humanity in the present and in the future of the planet.

These objectives are interdependent and are centered on respect for human rights and human dignity, as well as the eradication of poverty, the promotion of economic development and environmental protection, within a framework of peace building and cooperation. In fragile contexts, with profound destructuring of capacities due to the weakening of institutions, as is the case of Venezuela today, complying with Goal 16, which refers to the promotion of just, peaceful and inclusive societies, implies making a broad effort among the multiple actors to carry forward a process of structural reforms that make it possible to rescue democratic governance, the rule of law and the effectiveness and capacity for accountability.

Goal 17 establishes the need for cooperation and alliances, which are essential to achieve the contents of the entire agenda. Cooperation frameworks must express action based on the reality of the contexts in which they are applied and must meet five key objectives:

Articulate the collective response of the United Nations’ system to facilitate countries to address the problems posed by gaps (poverty, inequality, gender, technological, among others) and establish priorities to achieve the goals of the 2030 Agenda, in contexts of deep fragility caused by prolonged conflicts, as is the case in Venezuela;

Represent the spirit of cooperation and achieve partnerships that include, in addition to governments, the rest of the stakeholders, such as civil society organizations, academia and the private sector;

Leaving no one behind means making this desideratum tangible, guaranteeing the rights of all people, especially those belonging to groups affected by the complex humanitarian emergency, while addressing structural deprivations of rights;

Strengthen the means to ensure inclusion (respect for diversity, rights-based mainstreaming and participation) especially in sustainable livelihoods (referring to people’s ability to provide for themselves and their families), while addressing the structural causes of inequalities and violence;

Ensure that UN teams have the tools to adapt responses to the scale of the specific needs and realities of the country in question, in order to ensure compliance with the Agenda and to set in motion a process of restoring capacities, in accordance with rights standards and the recommendations of international protection bodies.

In view of the above, the undersigned organizations consider it imperative that, within the framework of the signing of the new cooperation framework, the following actions be guaranteed:

The socio-political context in which the Agreement is signed be made explicit, so as to facilitate the concerted action of the multiple national actors and the international protection and cooperation agencies;

Incorporate, within this context, the set of recommendations that various human rights monitoring and protection mechanisms of the United Nations system have made in the last eleven years to the Venezuelan State, such as those issued by the International Human Rights Treaties Committees, the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the ILO Survey Commission and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, among others;

Recognition of the structural problems that persist in Venezuela in terms of human rights and justice. The approach to the Venezuelan conflict must include as a priority the search for justice as part of peace building. To ensure access to justice for all citizens, it is necessary to create and strengthen effective, independent and accountable institutions at all levels, in accordance with the principles of human rights in the implementation of Goal 16;

In order to achieve democratic coexistence, it is necessary to build an electoral route that guarantees the realization of authentic elections, including the recommendations made by the Electoral Observation Mission of the European Union and the Panel of Experts of the United Nations for the regional elections of 2021;

The nexus perspective must be adopted as the fundamental framework for addressing the problems of countries in situations of sustained crisis, as is the case of Venezuela, in order to articulate humanitarian action, development, the defense of human rights and peace building, to provide responses that alleviate suffering and do not cause more damage, respecting at all times the mandates and means of each system;

Mechanisms for the active participation of all Venezuelan society in the process be ensured and the means for follow-up and accountability be facilitated, so as to leave no one behind, in the language of the Agenda, ensuring interconnection, indivisibility, inclusion and cooperation among the multiple stakeholders.

In Caracas, on October 19th, 2022.

Signed:

  1. C Banco del Libro
  2. C CEDISUC
  3. C. Casa del Nuevo Pueblo
  4. C. Reforma Judicial
  5. AC Muévete Venezuela
  6. Acceso a la Justicia
  7. Acción en Positivo
  8. Acción Solidaria
  9. Alerta Venezuela
  10. Alianza Venezolana por la Salud
  11. Amigos Trasplantados de Venezuela
  12. Aquí se habla legal, SC
  13. Asociación Civil de Planificación Familiar
  14. Asociación Civil Los Naguaritos
  15. Asociación Civil Saber es Poder-AsoSaber
  16. Asociación Civil Vida y Luz (Asoviluz)
  17. Asociación Venezolana de Mujeres
  18. Asociación Venezolana de Servicios de Salud de Orientación Cristiana (AVESSOC)
  19. Asociación Venezolana para la Hemofilia
  20. Caleidoscopio Humano
  21. Caracas Ciudad Plural
  22. Cátedra de Derechos Humanos de la Universidad Centroccidental Lisandro Alvarado
  23. CECAVID
  24. Cedice Libertad
  25. Centro de Animación Juvenil
  26. Centro de Atención Integral Psicopedagógica Individual
  27. Centro de Desarrollo Humano Sustentable UVM
  28. Centro de Investigación Social Formación y Estudios de la Mujer CISFEM
  29. Centro de Justicia y Paz – Cepaz
  30. Centro para el Desarrollo Humano Sustentable
  31. CIIDER
  32. Civilis Derechos Humanos
  33. Clima21
  34. Comité de DDHH La Carucieña
  35. Comité de DDHH para la Defensa de Pensionados, Jubilados, Adultos Mayores y Personas con Discapacidad
  36. Consejo Comunal Urbanización Miranda
  37. Control Ciudadano para la Seguridad, la Defensa y la Fuerza Armada Nacional
  38. Equipo de Proyectos y Asesoría Social-EDEPA
  39. EXCUBITUS Derechos Humanos en Educación
  40. Federación de Estudiantes de Derecho de Venezuela FEDEVE
  41. Federación Nacional de Sociedades de Padres y Representantes -FENASOPADRES-
  42. FUNCAMAMA
  43. Fundación Agua Sin Fronteras
  44. Fundación Aguaclara
  45. Fundación BENGOA
  46. Fundación FACIU
  47. Fundación Iribarren Lucha
  48. Fundación para la Prevencion de la Violencia contra las Mujeres
  49. Fundación Reflejos de Venezuela
  50. FUNDEMUL VENEZUELA
  51. Globiérnatec
  52. Inclusión Venezuela
  53. INVESP
  54. IPYS Venezuela
  55. Lainet UC
  56. Médicos Unidos de Venezuela capitulo Carabobo
  57. Movimiento Ciudadano Dale letra
  58. MUV LARA
  59. Observatorio de Derechos Humanos del Centro de Animación Juvenil
  60. Observatorio de Derechos Humanos Universidad de Los Andes
  61. Observatorio Global de Comunicación y Democracia OGCD
  62. Observatorio Venezolano DDHH Mujeres
  63. Observatorio Venezolano de Conflictividad Social (OVCS)
  64. Observatorio Venezolano de Prisiones
  65. Observatorio Venezolano de Violencias LGBTIQ+
  66. Odevida, Capítulo Venezuela 67. Ong Hombres por la equidad e igualdad
  67. Opción Venezuela AC.
  68. Organización Nacional de Trasplante de Venezuela ONTV
  69. Organización StopVIH
  70. Padres Organizados de Venezuela
  71. Programa Venezolano de Educación-Acción en Derechos Humanos (Provea)
  72. PROMEDEHUM
  73. REDHNNA, Red por los Derechos Humanos de Niñas, Niños y Adolescentes
  74. Resonalia Senos Ayuda A.C.
  75. SINERGIA, red venezolana de organizaciones de la Sociedad Civil
  76. SOS Pacientes Renales
  77. Territorio Gestalt
  78. Una Ventana a la libertad
  79. Unión Afirmativa
  80. Voluntariado Técnico Electoral-VOTE
  81. Voto Joven

Persons:

  1. Carlos Medina
  2. Carlos Moreno
  3. Deborah Van Berkel
  4. Eglantina Durrego
  5. Elena Hernáiz
  6. Fernando Aranguren
  7. Fernando Coromoto Filindro Zapata
  8. Gabriela Buada Blondell
  9. Gipsy Gómez
  10. Guillermo Ascanio
  11. Humberto Antonio Rodríguez Valles
  12. Jeanette Moreno
  13. José Cortez
  14. José Gregorio Fernández
  15. Juan Carlos Benítez Benfele
  16. Kethy Mendoza
  17. Lorena Liendo Rey
  18. Luisabeth Pernalete
  19. Luzmila Leal
  20. Magaly Huggins
  21. Maleisi Núñez Medina
  22. Morella Alvarado
  23. Paola Marcano
  24. Raúl Azparren M.
  1. Raúl Herrera
  2. Rolando Smith
  3. Saúl Jiménez
  4. Saúl Jiménez Beiza
  5. Soliria Menegatti
  6. Tamara Adrian
  7. Thamar Masroua
  8. Tibisay Betancourt Parra
  9. Vicsaly Lucena
Peace for Venezuela
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Peace for Venezuela is a campaign that aims to break down the information bias surrounding the Venezuelan crisis within the international community and promote a stronger and more constructive role for the United Nations.