A/HRC/45/CRP.11 • The “civic-military union,”414 which has been used to to call for citizen participation in security and national defence; • The “integral defence” of the nation, defined as the measures implemented by the State “with the participation of public and private institutions” in order to “safeguard the independence, freedom, democracy, sovereignty, territorial integrity and comprehensive development of the Nation;”415 and • Maintaining the “internal order,” which is defined as “the state in which justice is administered and the values and principles enshrined in the Constitution are consolidated”,416 but which appears in numerous plans and policies related to military intervention in matters of public order. 1. The State Security Institutions A. The Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) 168. Under the 1999 Constitution, the National Armed Forces consist of the Army, Navy, Air Forces and the National Guard (GNB).417 This was the first time the GNB was included as a branch of the armed forces, previously considered part of the police. The purpose of the National Armed Forces was broadened under the 1999 constitutional reforms to include maintaining “internal order”418 and participation in national development.419 169. The Constitution establishes civilian control over the armed forces. 420 At the same time, the reforms of 1999 centralized power in one chain of command under the President, eliminating the role of the legislative power in promoting military officials that was in place in the previous 1961 Constitution.421 The 1999 Constitution introduces the concept of national security as a “shared responsibility” of the State and civil society. 170. The mission of FANB is to ensure the independence and the sovereignty of the nation, maintaining the “internal order” and taking an “active role” in national development. 422 The activities of the FANB are guided by the concept of “civic-military union”, the purpose of which is to “guarantee the comprehensive defence of the Nation by exercising the principle of co-responsibility in the various spheres of National Security”. 423 171. The functions of the National Armed Forces424 are detailed in its organic law and subsequent reforms (reformed 6 times in the last 15 years). In January 2020, the National Constituent Assembly425 enacted a “constitutional law”426 on the FANB, replacing the previous November 2014 reform to the organic law (despite the concerns related to the authority of the National Constituent Assembly to legislate, noted above).427 This law 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 See e.g., 2020 Constitutional Law of the FANB, art. 84. 2014 Organic Security Law, art. 3; 2020 Constitutional Law on the FANB, art. 5. 2014 Organic Security Law, art. 18. 1999 Constitution, art. 328. In the 2008 reforms to the Organic Law, the armed forces were rebranded as “Bolivarian”. 1999 Constitution, art. 328. Ibid., art. 326. Ibid., art. 323. See Constitution of 1961, art. 150.5. 2020 Constitutional Law of the FANB, art. 4. Ibid., art. 84. For an in-depth discussion see Rocío San Miguel, Chapter on FANB in, Elementos de una transición integral e incluyente en Venezuela: una visión desde lo local (2020), 4 April 2020, available at: https://www.ifit-transitions.org/publications/major-publications-briefings/building-an-inclusive-andintegrated-transition-in-venezuela-a-local-perspective/ifit_v_24_abril_intro_01.pdf/view. See Multimedio VTV, Presidente Maduro: Ley Constitucional de la FANB fundamenta la defensa integral de la nación, 4 February 2020, video on file with the Mission. Constitutional law of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces, published in the Official Gazette No. 6508, 30 January 2020, available at: https://pandectasdigital.blogspot.com/2020/02/leyconstitucional-de-la-fuerza-armada.html. Ley Orgánica de la Fuerza Armada Nacional Bolivariana, Presidential Decree No. 1439, 17 November 2014, published in Official Gazette No. 6156, available at: https://pandectasdigital.blogspot.com/2016/07/ley-organica-de-la-fuerza-armada.html. 47