[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 44 Reported in Senate (RS)]
<DOC>
Calendar No. 27
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 44
Denouncing the Maduro regime's fraudulent legislative elections, the
absence of acceptable conditions to ensure free, fair, and transparent
electoral processes in Venezuela, and the further erosion of Venezuelan
democracy.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 8, 2021
Mr. Rubio (for himself, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Scott
of Florida, and Mr. Cardin) submitted the following resolution; which
was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
March 24, 2021
Reported by Mr. Menendez, without amendment
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Denouncing the Maduro regime's fraudulent legislative elections, the
absence of acceptable conditions to ensure free, fair, and transparent
electoral processes in Venezuela, and the further erosion of Venezuelan
democracy.
Whereas, on December 6, 2020, the regime of Nicolas Maduro held fraudulent
legislative elections for Venezuela's National Assembly that did not
comply with international standards for free, fair, and transparent
electoral processes;
Whereas the Maduro regime sought to use fraudulent legislative elections to
install a new National Assembly on January 5, 2021, in an effort to
undermine Venezuela's National Assembly, which was democratically
elected in 2015;
Whereas, pursuant to section 112 of the VERDAD Act of 2019 (22 U.S.C. 9702), it
is the policy of the United States to recognize the democratically
elected National Assembly of Venezuela, elected in December 2015 and
sworn in on January 2016, as the only legitimate national legislative
body in Venezuela;
Whereas the United States and more than 50 countries--including Canada, the 27
member countries of the European Union, and 21 members of the
Organization of American States, among others--have expressed concern
about the lack of legitimacy of the December 6, 2020, electoral process
held in Venezuela and the Maduro regime's failure to meet international
standards for a free, fair, and transparent election;
Whereas, on January 6, 2021, the European Union issued a public statement on the
Maduro regime's December 6, 2020, legislative elections, stating that
``the elections failed to comply with international standards'' and that
it does not recognize the electoral process as ``credible, inclusive or
transparent, nor . . . its outcome to be considered as representative of
the democratic will of the Venezuelan people'';
Whereas, on January 5, 2021, members of the Lima Group--including Brazil,
Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala,
Haiti, Honduras, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela--issued a joint
declaration stating that the Lima Group does not ``recognize the
legitimacy or legality of the National Assembly installed on January 5,
2021. This illegitimate National Assembly is the product of the
fraudulent elections of December 6, 2020, organized by the illegitimate
regime of Nicolas Maduro.'';
Whereas, on December 8, 2020, the International Contact Group--including Costa
Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, the European Union, France,
Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Panama, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the
United Kingdom and Uruguay--issued a public declaration stating that the
Maduro regime's December 6, 2020, elections did not meet internationally
accepted standards, ``[n]or did they meet conditions required by
Venezuelan laws,'' and that ``they cannot recognise the results of this
electoral process as legitimate or representative of the will of the
Venezuelan people'';
Whereas, on June 12, 2020, the Maduro regime's illegitimate Supreme Court
unilaterally appointed new members to Venezuela's National Electoral
Council without the approval of the democratically elected National
Assembly;
Whereas, throughout 2020, the Maduro regime--
(1) sought to co-opt and undermine independent political parties
through a campaign of systematic persecution; and
(2) used its discredited Supreme Court to strip independent political
parties of their leadership, including Voluntad Popular, Primero Justicia,
and Accion Democratica;
Whereas the Maduro regime has a demonstrated track record of holding fraudulent
elections over the last four years;
Whereas, in May 2018, the Maduro regime held fraudulent presidential elections
that were broadly criticized as illegitimate, leading more than 50
countries to recognize the end of Nicolas Maduro's term in office and
the inauguration of National Assembly President Juan Guaido as Interim-
President of Venezuela on January 23, 2019;
Whereas, on July 30, 2017, the Maduro regime manipulated the results for
Venezuela's Constituent Assembly by more than 1,000,000 votes, according
to Smartmatic, the company that supplied Venezuela's electronic voting
machines;
Whereas, according to the Venezuelan constitution, Juan Guaido, as President of
the National Assembly, serves as Venezuela's Interim President in the
absence of a democratically elected president of Venezuela;
Whereas the conditions do not currently exist for the free, fair, and
transparent election of new members of the National Assembly or the
president of Venezuela;
Whereas, as of September 7, 2020, the internationally recognized nongovernmental
organization Foro Penal confirmed that, out of the 110 individuals
recently released from prison by the Maduro regime to serve out the
remainder of their sentences under house arrest, 53 were political
prisoners, and that currently 363 political prisoners remain unjustly
detained by the Maduro regime without due process;
Whereas, on September 16, 2020, the United Nations Independent International
Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela found that
Nicolas Maduro and senior members of his regime ordered and carried out
a campaign of extrajudicial executions, forced disappearances, torture,
and arbitrary detentions that amounted to systemic crimes against
humanity;
Whereas the Maduro regime's efforts to hold fraudulent legislative elections,
undermine the democratically elected National Assembly and independent
political parties, and implement a campaign of state-sponsored violence
and repression further erodes democracy and the rule of law in
Venezuela; and
Whereas, as codified under section 4 of the Venezuela Defense of Human Rights
and Civil Society Act (Public Law 113-278; 128 U.S.C. 3013), it is the
policy of the United States ``to support the people of Venezuela in
their aspiration to live under conditions of peace and representative
democracy as defined by the Inter-American Democratic Charter of the
Organization of American States'': Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) denounces the Maduro regime's fraudulent legislative
elections on December 6, 2020, as an effort to undermine
Venezuela's democratically elected National Assembly;
(2) does not recognize the legitimacy of the National
Assembly installed by the Maduro regime on January 6, 2021;
(3) joins members of the international community, including
members of the Lima Group, the Organization of American States,
and the European Union, in rightfully rejecting the Maduro's
regime's fraudulent and illegitimate legislative elections on
December 6, 2020;
(4) urges that presidential and legislative elections in
Venezuela be conducted at the earliest possible date that
conditions for international standards for free, fair, and
transparent electoral processes, including credible
international election observation, can be met;
(5) calls on the Maduro regime to cease its campaign of
systematic persecution against Venezuela's independent
political parties and their leadership;
(6) calls on the Maduro regime to immediately release all
political prisoners, facilitate access by humanitarian
organizations, and end its campaign of extrajudicial
executions, forced disappearances, torture, and arbitrary
detentions of political opponents, human rights defenders,
civil society activists, peaceful protesters, and citizens; and
(7) takes note of the finding of the United Nations
Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela that the Maduro regime's
campaign of state-sponsored violence and repression against the
people of Venezuela amounted to crimes against humanity, and
calls for Nicolas Maduro and senior members of his regime to be
held accountable for their actions.
Calendar No. 27
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 44
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Denouncing the Maduro regime's fraudulent legislative elections, the
absence of acceptable conditions to ensure free, fair, and transparent
electoral processes in Venezuela, and the further erosion of Venezuelan
democracy.
_______________________________________________________________________
March 24, 2021
Reported without amendment