The Diplomat
The Congress has recently approved two non-legislative proposals in favor of democracy and human rights in Venezuela and against the regime of Nicolás Maduro.
On the one hand, the plenary session of Congress approved on December 12 a non-legislative proposal presented by the People’s Parliamentary Group, and finally adopted in its terms, in which the Government is urged to “adhere to the demand presented in 2018 and address the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and request progress in the Situation in Venezuela, and request the Preliminary Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant against Nicolás Maduro Moros and other suspects of the perpetration of crimes against humanity.”
The government is also asked to issue “a public statement addressed to Nicolás Maduro, demanding the immediate cessation of repression and the release of all political prisoners and arbitrarily detained persons” and to support “the United Nations reports that record serious human rights violations in Venezuela. It also urges the government to “submit to the Congress of Deputies, within a month, a report on the actions carried out by the Spanish Embassy in Venezuela in defence of the fundamental rights of Spanish citizens who are victims of crimes against humanity.”
Regarding this last point, the Foreign Affairs Committee approved another non-legislative proposals on Wednesday, also from the PP, in which the Government is urged to “intervene diplomatically with the Nicolás Maduro regime to guarantee the immediate and unconditional release of the Spanish citizens José María Basoa Valdovinos and Andrés Martínez Adasme, who have been unjustly detained in Venezuela” and to “publicly denounce the conditions of repression and the systematic violations of human rights that are taking place under the Nicolás Maduro regime, with special emphasis on the use of unfounded accusations of espionage and conspiracy as justification for the arbitrary detention of foreign citizens and opponents.”
The Government is also asked to reiterate “its commitment to the protection of its citizens abroad, ensuring that everything possible is done to ensure that José María Basoa Valdovinos and Andrés Martínez Adasme return to Spain as soon as possible, and that their fundamental rights are respected at all times, as well as the consular assistance to which they are entitled while they remain in prison” and to undertake to closely monitor the situation of all Spanish citizens detained in Venezuela, and to provide all necessary support to the families of victims of political and judicial reprisals, as has been done in other similar cases, through the appropriate consular assistance.”
