The Mission's mandate was created on 27 September 2019 by United Nations Human Rights Council Resolution 42/25 to assess human rights violations since 2014: including persecution of opposition groups, immigration, food crisis, state sexism towards Venezuelan women and girls, among others; since the beginning of the first government of Nicolás Maduro of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela.
A set of laws, policies and practices that has reduced the democratic sphere, dismantled the system of institutional control over the executive branch and allowed the reiteration of serious human rights violations.
The document highlights the impact of the deep economic crisis, which has deprived the population of the means to satisfy their fundamental rights to food and medical care, among others.In the context of the presidential crisis of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó expressed that «the Report of the UN puts to Maduro to level of the atrocious crimes committed by [Muammar] Gaddafi», whereas Maduro disqualified the report «for being plagued of falsities».
We deeply regret that this was the route chosen by the government.On 17 September 2020 the International Mission published a report describing extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, torture and cruel treatment committed in Venezuela since 2014.
On 5 October, the UN Human Rights Council approved a resolution extending the Mission's mandate for two more years.