The human rights situation in Venezuela and the US use of force

On January 3, 2026, the United States engaged in an armed attack against Venezuela and abducted President Maduro and Cilia Flores who are now in a detention centre in Brooklyn NY. Maduro refused to relinquish power in Venezuela despite clear evidence that he lost the 2024 Presidential election and the legitimacy of his government has not been widely recognized by the international community. There have been many allegations of grave and widespread human rights violations under the Maduro regime and in 2019 the UN Human Rights Council established an Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela.

This webinar will discuss the human rights situation in Venezuela prior to and after the US use of force as well as the legality of the use of force itself and of the abduction of Maduro and his wife.

Speakers

Alex Neve
Member of the UN Human Rights Council's Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela. He is a professor of international human rights law at the University of Ottawa and Dalhousie University. Alex served as Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada between 2000-2020. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada and was the 2025 CBC Massey Lecturer.

John Packer
Associate Professor of Law, former Director of the HRREC and former inaugural Neuberger-Jesin Professor of International Conflict Resolution. Prior to joining uOttawa in 2014, he served for 20 years as a UN staff member and as Senior Legal Adviser at the OSCE.  He is currently a member of the Foreign Minister of Canada’s Standing Table on Human Rights.

Moderator | Penelope Simons
Full Professor, Faculty of Law, Common Law Section & Director, Human Rights Research and Education Centre (HRREC), University of Ottawa.