• Urgent Action

Urgent Action: NGOS IN VENEZUELA AT RISK (Venezuela: UA 8.23)

January 25, 2023

On 24 January 2023, the Venezuelan National Assembly took its first step to approve a bill seeking to control, restrict, and potentially criminalize and close NGOs operating in Venezuela. If this bill passes, all Venezuelan NGOs will have to comply with abusive measures or face criminal prosecution. Measures include disclosing information on their funding, staff, and governance, and would violate the rights to association, privacy, and others, putting NGOs and their beneficiaries at grave risk of criminalization and reprisals. We call on the National Assembly to immediately put a stop to this bill and cease all attacks on civil society.

TAKE ACTION:

  1. Please take action as-soon-as possible. This Urgent Action expires on March 22, 2023.
  2. Write a letter in your own words or using the sample below as a guide to one or both government officials listed. You can also email, fax, call or Tweet them.
  3. Click here to let us know the actions you took on Urgent Action 8.23. It’s important to report because we share the total number with the officials we are trying to persuade and the people we are trying to help.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Jorge Rodriguez Esqs. Monjas a San Francisco, Hemiciclo. Palacio Federal Legislativo, Carmelitas, Av Sur 2, Caracas, Distrito Capital, Venezuela Twitter: @jorgepsuv
H.E. Joaquin A. Perez Ayestaran Permanent Mission of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the United Nations 335 East 46th Street New York, N.Y. 10017 Phone: 212 557 2055 / Fax: 212 557 3528 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @ONUVENuevaYork , @japerezve Salutation: Dear Ambassador
SAMPLE LETTER Dear Jorge Rodríguez, I am alarmed by the recently tabled bill seeking to control, limit, and possibly criminally prosecute non-governmental organizations operating in Venezuela, which was put to a first vote on Tuesday 24 January 2023. This bill is yet another attempt to control NGOs, humanitarian organizations, and other members of Venezuelan civil society, and a shameful effort to limit their human rights work, including assisting victims of human rights violations, recipients of humanitarian relief, and people in need in Venezuela. NGOs and other civil society organizations carry out a vital mission in any country, but even more so in Venezuela, where over 7.1 million people have fled mass human rights violations and millions need humanitarian assistance on a daily basis. I call upon you to put an immediate stop to this bill in the National Assembly, and to stop all efforts to attack, control, prosecute, or censor civil society organizations working to protect the rights of all Venezuelans, particularly those in most need. Yours sincerely, [YOUR NAME] ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
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