The Peruvian sociologist Sofía Macher Batanero, human rights defender, will be the new president of the Mission to Determine the Facts about Venezuela, created by the United Nations to investigate abuses in this country since 2014.
Macher, with more than 30 years of experience in transitional justice, memory and reparation or gender issues, replaces the Portuguese Marta Valiñas in office, who chaired the commission of three experts since its creation in September 2019 by the UN Human Rights Council.
The Canadian Alex Neve and the Argentine-Mexican expert María Eloísa Quintero, also recently appointed, will accompany the Peruvian on her mission.
The repressive machinery continues
In the last seven years The mission has frequently denounced abuses by the Venezuelan authorities, and in its latest report, published in March, it noted that the repressive machinery in Venezuela continues despite the capture of Nicolás Maduro by US forces on January 3.
The mission has reported at least 87 new arrests for political reasons since the change in Venezuelan power, now with Delcy Rodríguez as acting president.
Macher chaired the Reparations Council in his country and was part of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Internationally, she has collaborated with the Organization of American States, the United Nations Development Program, and UN Women, in addition to working on truth commissions for Libya, Yemen, Colombia, and the Solomon Islands.
