Un Mundo Sin Mordaza Explained

Un Mundo Sin Mordaza
Formation:	2009
Type:	Non-governmental organization
Headquarters:	Caracas, Venezuela
Region:	Worldwide
Fields:	Human rights activism
Leader Title:	Director
Leader Name:	Rodrigo Diamanti (President and Founder)

Un Mundo Sin Mordaza is a Venezuelan non-governmental organization founded in 2009, whose stated mission is denouncing attacks on freedom of expression and human rights violations. The organization has global volunteers who coordinate campaigns that use music, art and culture to promote human rights and democratic values, as well as raise awareness about the complex humanitarian emergency (CHE) in Venezuela. The organization trains and educates human rights activists worldwide, while also supporting initiatives of documentation of fundamental rights violation in Venezuela.

Un Mundo Sin Mordaza was founded by Rodrigo Diamanti, a Venezuelan human rights activist and economist graduated from the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello (UCAB), with a master's degree in international diplomacy from the Universidad Ortega y Gasset in Madrid, and MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School where he worked as a researcher at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation.^[1] On May 7, 2014, Diamanti was arrested by the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (SEBIN) for allegedly supporting anti-government protests and creating a global campaign called SOS Venezuela. He was released two days later with precautionary measures. Diamanti was reportedly harassed by the Minister of Interior and Justice, General Miguel Rodríguez Torres,^[2] as well as on the program Con El Mazo Dando.^[3]

Operations

Activism

Un Mundo Sin Mordaza has carried out several global campaigns and protests with mobilizations, including SOS Venezuela, Free DirecTV,^[4] and AlzaLaVoz.^[5] The organization also conducts training programs, bootcamps and forums for activists. It has collaborations with international partners and allies.^[6]

Notable activist campaigns include:

• SOS Venezuela (2014): The SOS Venezuela campaign was started in 2014 to draw attention to the human rights situation in the country. As part of the campaign, peaceful demonstrations were carried out in 20 countries, denouncing repression and violence in Venezuela, and raising awareness on the situation of political prisoners and attacks on the press in the country.^[7] The campaign received support from artists such as Ricardo Montaner,^[8] Ricky Martin,^[9] Juanes, Madonna,^[10] Jared Leto,^[11] and Luis Fonsi.^[12]
• NoMásDictadura (2017): The NoMásDictadura hashtag campaign raised awareness about the struggle against the authoritarian and oppressive regime in Venezuela, with peaceful protests and rallies being held in more than 50 cities globally.^[13]
• International mobilization for the right to vote of the Venezuelan Diaspora (November 26, 2023): This mobilization saw the participation of the Venezuelan diaspora in 24 cities around the world, who demanded the upholding of the results of the primary elections held on October 22, the lifting of unconstitutional political disqualifications, and the right to vote of Venezuelans abroad in the 2024 presidential elections.^[14]

Artivism

Un Mundo Sin Mordaza has employed artivism as a means of denunciation. It conducts artivist events such as concerts, standup comedy shows, forums and contests.^{[15] [16]} It has held contests in photography, music, poster, film, writing and illustration to promote artivism.^{[17] [18] [19]}

Notable artivism events include:

• Tú Voz Es Tú Poder: Tú Voz Es Tú Poder was a musical festival with three editions in 2013, 2016 and 2017 when music was used as a means of protest and human rights defense. The concerts had more than 40 artists and bands participating in front of more than 30,000 people in Caracas. The Tú Voz Es Tú Poder musical album was released in 2017.^[20]
• The Right Cut: The Right Cut was a short film contest that had three editions. The first edition in 2016 received 29 entries from 9 countries, with the theme being demand for democracy and protection of human rights. The second edition in 2019 had 68 videos from 14 countries on the central theme of freedom of expression. The third edition received 40 video entries from 7 countries, illustrating the impact of pandemic on the socioeconomic conditions, quality of life and human rights violations.^[21]

Reports

Un Mundo Sin Mordaza is part of the Crimes Against Humanity Network along with the Observatory of Crimes Against Humanity and Defiende Venezuela. The Network documents and identifies victims affected by human right violations and shares the reports with the International Criminal Court.^[22]

Among notable reports prepared by the organization are the Report on Current Immigration Framework for Venezuelans, which is a guide to immigration laws in other countries; the Freedom of Expression Report, which documents freedom of expression violations committed by the state; the Citizen Self-Censorship Report, which is a survey on self-censorship among Venezuelan citizens; and the Venezuela in Numbers Report, which collects thematic data in context of the humanitarian emergency.

• Annual Freedom of Expression Report 2019 – documented 55 journalists arrested arbitrarily, 9 television channels taken off air, 15 opinion programs censored, 11 radio stations closed, 800 web portals blocked, among others.^{[23] [24]}
• Migration and Refugee Report 2020 – recorded the conditions and reasons behind Venezuelans migrating; 78% of the surveyed population left the country for socioeconomic reasons, 10.5% due to violence and 8.5% because of political persecution.^[25]
• Annual Freedom of Expression Report 2020 – documented 40 arbitrary arrests and 31 detentions of journalists, 4 televisions temporarily blocked, 19 radio stations taken off air, 19 blockages to web portals, among others.^[26]
• Biannual Freedom of Expression Report 2021 – documented 29 arbitrary arrests and detentions of journalists and civilians, 22 cases of threats towards TV channels and radio stations, including censorship through administrative or judicial sanctions, among others, in the first half of the year.^[27]
• Venezuela in Figures 2021 – documented numbers of Venezuelans affected by the complex humanitarian emergency (CHE) and covered figures pertaining to themes such as economy, health, public services, protests, citizen security and electoral conditions.^[28]
• Report on Citizen Self-Censorship 2022 – analyzed self-censorship by Venezuelan citizens on account of measures taken by the state security forces and fear of government reprisals.^[29]
• Annual Report on Freedom of Expression 2022 – recorded 97 cases of persecution of press workers and civilians, 11 arrests and 1 murder, 11 blockages to websites, and 89 attacks on media.^[30]

Awards and nominations

• 2021 – Best Campaign of the Year (Nominated)^[31]
• 2022 Thomson Reuters Foundation TrustLaw Awards – Collaboration Award (Won)^[32]

See also

• Foro Penal
• PROVEA
• Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict
• Protests against Nicolás Maduro

Notes and References

1. News: Rodrigo Diamanti . 24 November 2023 . The Federalist Society.
2. News: Detido criador da campanha "SOS Venezuela" . 24 November 2023 . Jornal de Notícias . pt.
3. News: Rodrigo Diamanti . 24 November 2023 . Defiendo DDHH . 26 May 2016 . es.
4. News: Un Mundo Sin Mordaza emprende una campaña para el regreso de DirecTV a Venezuela . 24 November 2023 . El Universal . 17 June 2020 . es.
5. News: Activistas de Un Mundo Sin Mordaza alzan su voz contra Maduro . 24 November 2023 . El Pitazo.
6. News: Jokinen . Emmy Blad . "Mobilising civil society in Venezuela and beyond" . 24 November 2023 . Civil Rights Defenders . 13 October 2022.
7. Web site: Security Forces Detain Leader of "SOS Venezuela" Campaign. May 13, 2014. Apr 9, 2020.
8. News: Juanes y Ricardo Montaner se pronuncian por Venezuela . 21 February 2024 . Panamá América . 20 February 2014 . es.
9. News: Ricky Martin: “¡S.O.S. Venezuela!” . 21 February 2024 . ABC Color Paraguay . es.
10. News: Madonna, Juanes y Cher, entre otros, piden #SOS por Venezuela . 21 February 2024 . ELMUNDO . 23 February 2014 . es.
11. News: Jared Leto se acuerda de Venezuela en los Oscar . 21 February 2024 . BBC News Mundo . 3 March 2014 . es.
12. News: Luis Fonsi And Daddy Yankee Disapprove Of Venezuelan President’s Use Of “Despacito” . 21 February 2024 . The FADER . 24 July 2017 . en.
13. News: Venezuelans are taking to the streets demanding #NoMasDictadura . 21 February 2024 . dw.com . Deutsche Welle . en.
14. News: Diáspora venezolana se movilizó por el derecho al voto en el exterior de cara al 2024 . 21 February 2024 . VPITV . 29 November 2023 . es.
15. News: El Rap y el Ska triunfaron en el concurso Canta Sin Mordaza . 24 November 2023 . El Nacional.
16. News: Un Mundo Sin Mordaza y la moda como medio de protesta - Esbaratao . 24 November 2023 . Esbaratao . 25 October 2021 . es.
17. News: Un Mundo sin Mordaza y la OEA inician concurso fotográfico sobre la crisis venezolana . 24 November 2023 . TalCual . 4 June 2019 . es.
18. News: Caracas vibró con Música Sin Mordaza . 24 November 2023 . Runrun . 29 November 2011 . es.
19. News: Concurso Ilustrando Nuestro País: una iniciativa de Sin Mordaza para visibilizar la emergencia humanitaria compleja en Venezuela . 24 November 2023 . La TV Calle . 10 November 2022 . es.
20. News: Ballesta . Juan Carlos . Festival Tu Voz es tu Poder (30 oct) . 21 February 2024 . Revista Ladosis . 27 October 2016 . es.
21. News: Sin Mordaza presenta la nueva edición del concurso “The Right Cut” . 24 November 2023 . El Pitazo.
22. News: Remitieron a la CPI 36 nuevos casos de crímenes de lesa humanidad en Venezuela . 21 February 2024 . El Nacional.
23. News: Rosas . Ronny Rodríguez . Sin Mordaza registra 900 violaciones a la libertad de expresión hasta septiembre . 24 November 2023 . Efecto Cocuyo . 30 October 2019 . es.
24. News: Zambrano . Francisco . En 314% aumentaron denuncias de violaciones a libertad de expresión en primer semestre de 2019 . 24 November 2023 . Runrun . 8 November 2019 . es.
25. News: Un Mundo Sin Mordaza: 97,2% de los migrantes dejaron familiares cercanos en Venezuela . 24 November 2023 . El Pitazo.
26. News: Un Mundo Sin Mordaza: El 2020 fue un año grave para la libertad de expresión en Venezuela . 24 November 2023 . Runrun . 17 February 2021 . es.
27. News: Kancev . María Victoria Fermín . Primer semestre 2021: hubo 150 violaciones a la libertad de expresión . 24 November 2023 . Efecto Cocuyo . 26 August 2021 . es.
28. News: Un Mundo Sin Mordaza: Venezuela en Cifras 2021 . 24 November 2023 . HumVenezuela.
29. News: Un Mundo Sin Mordaza: En 2022 se profundizó la sistematización de la violación y el cercenamiento del derecho a la libertad de expresión en Venezuela . 24 November 2023 . El Nacional.
30. News: Figuera . Roison . Sin Mordaza registró 209 violaciones a la libertad de expresión en 2022 . 24 November 2023 . TalCual . 2 May 2023 . es.
31. News: Nominados y Ganadores 2021 . 24 November 2023 . Napolitan Victory Awards.
32. News: Un Mundo Sin Mordaza recibió Premio "Trusy Law 2022" por guía para migrantes venezolanos . 24 November 2023 . Runrun . 10 June 2022 . es.