UN probe warns Venezuela ICC withdrawal risks impunity for alleged crimes against humanity

A UN-backed fact-finding mission criticised Venezuela’s planned withdrawal from the International Criminal Court on Monday, warning that the move risked reinforcing impunity for alleged human rights violations and international crimes.

Venezuela’s foreign minister said on Friday that the country would leave the ICC over what he called “geographical bias”.

The court is investigating alleged crimes against humanity committed under the government of ousted president Nicolas Maduro.

The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela said the planned withdrawal raised serious concerns about the authorities’ commitment to accountability.

It said Venezuela had reached a critical point at which its people needed justice, truth and a reckoning with the past.

The UN Human Rights Council established the mission in 2019 to investigate alleged human rights violations committed in Venezuela since 2014.

The mission said the current administration had taken no meaningful action to advance investigations into widely documented gross human rights violations and international crimes committed over more than a decade.

It also accused the authorities of seeking to evade international processes intended to support accountability within Venezuela.

The ICC prosecutes individuals accused of crimes including war crimes and crimes against humanity.

It is investigating alleged crimes against humanity committed during crackdowns on Venezuelan protesters since 2014.

Maduro led Venezuela from March 2013 until US forces captured him in January.

The country is now governed by interim leader Delcy Rodriguez, who served as Maduro’s vice president from 2018.

In December 2025, Venezuela’s parliament began taking steps to repeal the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC.

The move followed the court’s decision to close its Caracas office, citing unsuccessful talks with the Venezuelan government.