IACHR grants precautionary measures in favor of Juan Pablo Guanipa, coordinator of the Justice First political party in Venezuela

October 9, 2024

Washington, DC – The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) issued Resolution 71/2024 on October 7, 2024, to grant precautionary measures in favor of Juan Pablo Guanipa Villalobos in Venezuela, in the belief that he faces a serious, urgent risk of suffering irreparable harm to his rights to life and personal integrity.

According to the request for these precautionary measures, the beneficiary is an opposition politician in Venezuela and has been subjected to intimidation, harassment, and attacks since at least 2016. Following the presidential election held in July 2024, he was allegedly followed by vehicles carrying agents of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN) over the period August 3–28, 2024. This harassment was allegedly extended to various members of his family and led to family business shutdowns, hounding around the family home, and passport cancellations.

Further, the beneficiary's brother was allegedly arrested on September 26, 2024, and the authorities failed to disclose the grounds for the arrest and the place where he has been held since. The State failed to provide information on this issue.

After assessing the legal and factual allegations made by the party who requested these precautionary measures, the IACHR asked the State of Venezuela to take the following action:

1. Adopt any measures necessary to protect Juan Pablo Guanipa Villalobos' rights to life and personal integrity
2. Take any measures necessary to ensure that the beneficiary can continue to be involved in political activities without being subjected to threats, harassment, or any other acts of violence for his involvement (in particular, the State needs both to ensure that its officers will respect the beneficiary's rights and preserve his personal integrity—in compliance with the standards of international human rights law—and to protect those rights from dangerous acts that may be perpetrated by third parties)
3. Come to an agreement with the beneficiary and his representatives concerning any measures that need to be taken
4. Report on any actions adopted to investigate the events that gave rise to the adoption of these precautionary measures, in order to prevent such events from happening again in the future

The fact that these precautionary measures have been granted and their adoption by the State do not entail a prejudgment on a potential petition that may be filed before the inter-American system to allege violations of rights protected by the applicable instruments.

The IACHR is an autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS) whose mandate is based on the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. Its mission is to promote and defend human rights throughout the Americas and to serve as an advisory body to the OAS in this area. The IACHR consists of seven independent members elected by the OAS General Assembly who serve in a personal capacity and do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 245/24

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