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ILO Governing Body, 356th session - EU Statement - Developments in the full implementation by the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela of the agreed plan of action to give effect to the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry

30.03.2026
Geneva
Press and information team of the Delegation to the UN in Geneva

European Union Statement

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ILO Governing Body, 356th session 

23 March – 3 April 2026

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Developments in the full implementation by the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela of the agreed plan of action to give effect to the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry in respect of Conventions Nos 26, 87 and 144 GB.355/INS/9

GB.356/INS/14

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Geneva, 30 March 2025

 

 

Chair,

I speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

The candidate countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine, Republic of Moldova and Georgia, the EFTA countries Iceland and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Canada, Switzerland and the United Kingdom align themselves with this statement.

We thank the Director-General for the report on developments regarding the implementation of the action plan addressing the Commission of Inquiry's recommendations on Conventions Nos 26, 87, and 144.

We welcome the recent release of several detained trade union activists and call for all remaining trade union activists to be immediately freed and urge that all releases are full and unconditional.

We also welcome the fact that after a gap of more than two years the 5th Social Dialogue Forum is scheduled in April. We urge Venezuela to avail itself of technical assistance from the Office to facilitate the effective operation of this tripartite mechanism and the comprehensive participation of relevant stakeholders. 

The EU and its Member States are hopeful that these notable steps will contribute to fostering trust, advancing social dialogue, and promoting national reconciliation and social justice. 

We renew our call on the authorities to undertake actions to reverse the shrinking of civic space and dire state of the human and labour rights situation in Venezuela, particularly regarding Freedom of Association and the Right to Organise. We urge the authorities to end all acts of repression against dissenting voices, threats and violence towards opposition members, civil society, human rights defenders, labour activists, trade unions and employers’ organizations, lawyers, as well as journalists and media workers. Their freedom, independence, autonomy, and protection need to be guaranteed.

Justice reform represents an urgent and critical opportunity to restore the rule of law. We call for action on pending allegations of violations of civil liberties and trade union rights, and for ensuring fair trials, reparations, and the reinstatement of workers who have been proven to be innocent.

We acknowledge recent consultations on the minimum wage, which has not been adjusted for four years. We urge the authorities, with the participation of the employers’ and workers’ organizations concerned, to apply without further delay the methods agreed upon for fixing the minimum wage.

We stress the importance of continued interaction with the CFA on the active cases to build trust among social partners. 

We are concerned about the reported lack of engagement with the ILO by the authorities. We regret that the meeting with the Director General and the social partners has not taken place as requested by the GB. We regret that the authorities have not facilitated the ILO special adviser’s presence in the country. We urge the authorities to take immediate steps to restore full collaboration with the ILO Office with the involvement of social partners.  

The EU and its Member States welcome the Office’s participation in a UN initiative to promote economic recovery with a social dimension in line with international labour standards and the recommendations of the ILO supervisory bodies.

We call on Venezuela to further translate its expressions of willingness into tangible action and strongly urge them to fully accept and implement the Commission of Inquiry’s recommendations.

We support the decision point.

Thank you Chair.

  1. ^  North Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.