WOLA is a leading research and advocacy organization committed to advancing human rights in the Americas. We create strategic partnerships with courageous people making social change—advocacy organizations, academics, religious and business leaders, artists, and government officials. Together, we advocate for more just societies in the Americas.
In a recent article published by the North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA), Charles A. and Leo M. Favrot Professor of Human Relations at Tulane University and WOLA Senior Fellow David Smilde reflects on the history of repression and political violence in Venezuela since 2002.
On Tuesday, March 15, at 8:00 a.m. EDT, WOLA, along with Amnesty International, Centre for Civil and Political Rights (CCPR), Center for Justice and Peace (CEPAZ), Due Process of Law Foundation (DPLF), Human Rights Watch, Monitor de Derechos Humanos, PROVEA…
On March 8, Charles A. and Leo M. Favrot Professor of Human Relations at Tulane University David Smilde published an op-ed in Foreign Policy assessing recent reports of talks between the Biden administration and the Maduro government to negotiate a potential deal to facilitate the exportation of Venezuelan oil, as well as the release of U.S. citizens detained in Venezuela, as Biden prepared to announce a ban on U.S. imports of oil from Russia amid its invasion of Ukraine.
The situation in Venezuela represents one of the biggest challenges to democracy and human rights in the Americas, as well as a devastating humanitarian emergency. As the crisis continues, human rights defenders and civil society activists are routinely targeted by the government of Nicolás Maduro.
Puentes Ciudadanos Colombia-Venezuela (PCCV) invites you to participate in an upcoming public event on Thursday, February 24 at 2:30 p.m. EST, in which international experts will offer their perspectives about the binational relationship between Venezuela and Colombia in the global geopolitical context.
Nicolás Maduro’s repressive regime has created an unprecedented humanitarian and human rights crisis in Venezuela, with Venezuelan security forces and armed pro-government groups responsible for grave human rights abuses and crimes against humanity.
We, a group of Venezuelan social and human rights organizations, reject the official decisions regarding the request to activate the constitutional right to hold a recall referendum of elected officials. This right is established in Article 72 of the Constitution, and its violation confirms the absence of democracy in the country and the inability for the population to exercise political rights without threat of reprisal.
Starting on Saturday, November 13, la Comisión para los Derechos Humanos del Estado Zulia (CODHEZ) is launching the sixth edition of its Human Rights Fair (FDH), an annual event hosted by CODHEZ in alliance with a network of other human rights organizations in the state of Zulia, to allow civil society organizations and activists to offer their reflections about the human rights situation in Venezuela.
On November 3, upon concluding a three-day visit to Venezuela, International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan announced that the body is opening a formal investigation into crimes against humanity committed by civilian authorities, members of the armed forces and pro-government individuals in the context of protests and repression that have occurred since 2017.
On Monday, November 1, WOLA President Carolina Jiménez Sandoval was featured in a Q&A published in the Inter-American Dialogue’s Latin America Advisor on the implications of Alex Saab’s extradition on a potential democratic transition in Venezuela.
Director for Venezuela @GRamsey_LatAm
WOLA Senior Fellow and the Charles A. and Leo M. Favrot Professor of Human Relations at Tulane University
@dsmilde