This event will examine the collapse of Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian rule from a human rights and accountability perspective, focusing on what comes next for Venezuela. Drawing on firsthand experience, international litigation, and global advocacy, the discussion will explore how systematic repression evolved into crimes against humanity, how Venezuelan civil society and victims pursued justice beyond closed domestic courts, and what democratic reconstruction grounded in human rights requires. The conversation will also address the role of international mechanisms, strategic litigation, and global solidarity in supporting a transition centered on truth, accountability, and the rule of law.

Génesis Dávila is a Venezuelan lawyer and founder of Defiende Venezuela, an NGO dedicated to advancing justice through international human rights litigation. Under her leadership, Defiende Venezuela achieved a landmark ruling from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights that restored the Court’s jurisdiction over Venezuela in the case Salamanca Chirinos et al. v. Venezuela, reopening the doors of justice for Venezuelan victims across the region. Through strategic 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. She has trained advocates from authoritarian regimes and has been featured in leading media outlets including CNN, The Washington Post, NPR, Voice of America, BBC, and The New York Times. Dávila is the co-author of Pathway to Justice: Handbook for the Liberation of Political Prisoners.

Rodrigo Diamanti is a Venezuelan human rights activist, Harvard Kennedy School MPA graduate, former political prisoner of the Maduro regime, and founder and president of Un Mundo Sin Mordaza, an NGO dedicated to promoting freedom of expression, democratic values, and human rights through international advocacy and creative public campaigns. As the creator of the global SOS Venezuela protests, Diamanti mobilized worldwide attention to the Venezuelan rights crisis and was detained by state security forces before being forced into exile. He currently serves as Secretary of the Independent International Expert Panel on the Situation of Crimes Against Humanity in Venezuela, contributing to documentation, analysis, and accountability efforts before international bodies. His work focuses on exposing state repression, amplifying victims’ voices, and advancing democratic renewal grounded in human rights.

This event is cosponsored by the University of Chicago Law School's International Programs, Malyi Center for the Study of Institutional and Legal Integrity, Human Rights Law Society, International Law Society and American Constitution Society.

Lunch will be provided. Please submit dietary requests eight business days prior to the program to Aican Nguyen at aican@uchicago.edu. Although we will try to accommodate dietary needs, it is not guaranteed.