Anti-Solidarity Law
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, called on the Venezuelan government to establish a "broad consultative process" on the law.
[9][10][6] Likewise, the law established the obligation to provide information "to any citizen who requests it" related to statutes and activities, which has generated concern among NGOs that the confidentiality that protects, for example, victims of human rights violations, could be threatened.
[12] A deputy, who remained anonymous, informed Efecto Cocuyo that the law had been presented by the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and distributed among the members of the foreign policy commission.
[13] The law empowers the government of Nicolás Maduro to open administrative proceedings in case of detection of any violation, which include the suspension of the organization's activities or even its dissolution.
[15][16] On 24 January 2023, Diosdado Cabello presented the bill under the name of "Law on Control, Regularization, Operations and Financing of Non-Governmental and Related Organisation", with 17 articles and 2 transitory provisions.
[1][2] Cabello stated that he had a first list of 62 non-governmental organizations likely to be regulated by the law, including Súmate, PROVEA, Futuro Presente, Lidera, Instituto Parliamentario Fermín Toro and Más Ciudadanos, linked to the Andrés Bello Catholic University (UCAB).
[22] Juan Guaidó stated in response that Nicolás Maduro's administration sought to persecute and outlaw Venezuelan non-governmental organizations, in addition to deepening Venezuela's humanitarian emergency.
[23] To Diosdado Cabello's announcement, Rocío San Miguel, president of the NGO Control Ciudadano, responded on his television program: "The crushing of society is advancing.
The director of Access to Justice, Alí Daniels, denounced that the fines established in the law, between 3000 and 12000 dollars, were unpayable for any NGO, stating that they were designed to be unenforceable and to outlaw organizations.
During the same press conference, Daniels denounced the detention of activist María Fernanda Rodríguez, of Lidera and Sinergia, at the Metropolitan University of Caracas, declaring that persecution would increase if the law was approved.
[24] The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, called on the Venezuelan government to establish a "broad consultative process" on the law.
[4] The Alliance for Freedom of Expression, which groups Venezuelan civil society organizations, warned that "One of the most worrying consequences of this proposal is that it increases the risk of millions of people in the country in critical situations who today benefit from social, humanitarian and human rights programs in the midst of a long-lasting structural crisis.
The absence of effective institutional guarantees for the protection of rights resulted in the displacement of more than 7 million people, which turned Venezuela into the focus of a migratory crisis without precedent in the continent".
