International Organizations Express Concern Regarding Administrative Providence that Seeks to Criminalize and Restrict Work of Civil Society Organizations in Venezuela1 min read

On September 24, WOLA joined CEJIL, DPLF, and several other organizations in issuing a joint statement expressing concern around an administrative ruling that seeks to criminalize and restrict the critical work that civil society organizations are doing in Venezuela. The statement notes recent efforts to intimidate and criminalize the work of Venezuelan civil society organizations, which include but are not limited to arbitrary detentions of NGO workers, raids on NGO offices, and verbal attacks and threats to organizations and their staff. The signing organizations express their deep concern regarding Administrative Providence 002-2021, which requires organizations in Venezuela to register their activities and funding sources with the National Office Against Organized Crime and Terrorist Financing (ONCDOFT). The statement emphasizes that this requirement is incompatible with international human rights standards, and calls on the Venezuelan government to cease all measures to criminalize civil society and establish additional obstacles for the execution of their work.

Read the full statement in Spanish here.