In a
joint statement
published today, a group of 21 civil society organizations, including Amnesty International, call for the renewal of the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela (FFM) and address key questions regarding this special UN mechanism, including what the FFM is and why must it be maintained at least until 2028; how the FFM is complementary to the work of the UN Human Rights Office and international justice mechanisms; and, crucially, how the mission can contribute to the future of Venezuela.
This statement follows an interactive dialogue held at the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva on 18 September 2026, during its ongoing 63rd session, where the FFM presented its most recent findings, and several civil society organizations issued oral statements calling on the Council to renew the FFM’s mandate for another two years.
The
FFM concluded
that gross human rights violations and international crimes continue being committed in Venezuela under a veil of persisting impunity. They also highlighted the role of groups of armed civilians in the government’s policy of repression and other human rights abuses. These conclusions build on a robust body of work published since 2020. In its reports the FFM has profiled a number of mid- and high-ranking perpetrators, chains of command within intelligence services and security forces, and a state policy against the civilian population who might be considered dissidents that would constitute crimes against humanity, including persecution on political grounds.
The FFM concluded that gross human rights violations and international crimes continue being committed in Venezuela under a veil of persisting impunity. They also highlighted the role of groups of armed civilians in the government’s policy of repression and other human rights abuses.
Background information
The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela is a special mechanism created by the UN in
2019
to exercise scrutiny
… [more]
