Venezuela Under the Lens: Human Rights Crisis and Pathways to Justice

A timely discussion on the current state of human rights in Venezuela, featuring firsthand perspectives from Venezuelan activists and political prisoners. This event comes at a pivotal moment—recent headlines highlight significant developments, from Maria Corina Machado’s recent Nobel Peace Prize recognition to ongoing reports of boat strikes in the Caribbean targeting Venezuelan citizens. Amid a deepening humanitarian crisis, Venezuela’s activists continue to advocate for a brighter future.

Featuring:

• Freddy Guevara, Cofounder, Venezuelan progressive party
• Génesis Dávila, Venezuelan lawyer and founder of Defiende Venezuela
• Miguel Alejandro Pizarro Rodriguez, Former Deputy to the National Assembly of Venezuela
• Kathryn Sikkink (Moderator), Ryan Family Professor of Human Rights Policy

About the Speakers

Freddy Guevara, political leader, freedom fighter, and democracy advocate.

Guevara co-founded the Venezuelan progressive party Voluntad Popular in 2010, was the top-voted congressman in 2015, Vice President of Venezuela’s Parliament in 2016, and leader of the non-violent civil uprising against Maduro’s dictatorship in 2017. As a result of his political activism, Guevara became a target of political persecution, resulting in the loss of his freedom for three years. During this time, he was a refugee in the Chilean Embassy in Caracas, a political prisoner, and has been in exile since August 2021. He was appointed to the Opposition Unitary Platform in negotiations with Maduro’s regime, and in 2023 as President of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Venezuelan Parliament in exile.

Guevara’s work at the Harvard Kennedy School has spanned the gamut. He worked as a research fellow for the Democracy in Hard Places Initiative headed by Tarek Masoud and graduated from the Mid-Career Masters in Public Administration program in 2024. Guevara currently works with Erica Chenoweth as a research fellow at the Nonviolent Action Lab, a program that he’s been involved with since 2022.
 

Génesis Dávila, Defiende Venezuela

Génesis Dávila is a Venezuelan lawyer and founder of Defiende Venezuela, an NGO specializing in international human rights litigation. 

 Dávila has represented more than 2,000 victims before international bodies and Courts, worked with the United Nations and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and advised the Organization of American States on crimes against humanity in Venezuela. Dávila has also trained advocates from authoritarian regimes. 

 She has been featured in renowned media outlets such as CNN, the Washington Post, NPR, Voice of America, BBC, and the New York Times, and recently co-authored “Pathway to Justice: Handbook for the Liberation of Political Prisoners.”

Miguel Alejandro Pizarro Rodriguez, Venezuelan politician in the National Assembly 

Miguel Pizarro is a Venezuelan activist with extensive experience in human rights, international advocacy, and strengthening civil society in contexts of democratic backsliding. Throughout his career, he has worked closely with civil society organizations, multilateral bodies, governments, cooperation agencies, and international organizations to raise awareness of the Venezuelan crisis, promote the protection of fundamental rights, and seek solutions to the humanitarian emergency. 

He was elected deputy to the National Assembly of Venezuela in 2010, at the age of 21, and was re-elected in 2015, representing one of the largest popular neighborhoods (barrios) in Latin America. Since 2019, he has held various positions as a representative to the United Nations (UN) and in the area of foreign relations. 

His experience in international coordination has been key to promoting measures against those responsible for human rights violations, channeling humanitarian aid, and advancing accountability mechanisms in forums such as the UN, the Organization of American States, and the International Criminal Court. He has actively participated in the drafting and follow-up of resolutions on Venezuela at the UN Human Rights Council, as well as in monitoring initiatives linked to the humanitarian emergency and the progressive shrinking of civic space in the country. 

His experience in advocacy, political strategy, and international cooperation has made him a central figure in the fight against authoritarianism and in the search for solutions in crisis contexts. 

About the Moderator

Kathryn Sikkink is the Ryan Family Professor of Human Rights Policy at HKS.  Sikkink works on international norms and institutions, transnational advocacy networks, the impact of human rights law and policies, and transitional justice.  Her publications include The Hidden Face of Rights: Toward a Politics of Responsibilies; Evidence for Hope: Making Human Rights Work in the 21st Century; The Justice Cascade: How Human Rights Prosecutions are Changing World Politics (awarded the Robert F. Kennedy Center Book Award, and the WOLA/Duke University Award); Mixed Signals: U.S. Human Rights Policy and Latin America;  Activists Beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics (co-authored with Margaret Keck and awarded the Grawemeyer Award for Ideas for Improving World Order, and the ISA Chadwick Alger Award for Best Book in the area of International Organizations); and The Persistent Power of Human Rights: From Commitment to Compliance, (co-edited with Thomas Risse and Stephen Ropp).  She holds an MA and Ph.D. from Columbia University.  Sikkink has been a Fulbright Scholar in Argentina and a Guggenheim fellow. She is a member of the American Philosophical Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Council on Foreign Relations, and a member of the editorial board of International Organization and the American Political Science Review.

Please register with a valid Harvard email address to attend in-person. All JFK Jr. Forums are publicly livestreamed on our YouTube channel.

Presented in collaboration with the Institute of Politics (IOP) and the Carr Ryan Center for Human Rights.