Venezuela has not acceded to or ratified the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which provides the internationally recognised definition of a refugee and outlines the legal protection, rights, and assistance a refugee is entitled to receive.

On 19 September 1986 Venezuela ratified the 1967 Protocol on the Status of Refugees, which expanded the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees to apply universally and protect all persons fleeing conflict and persecution. 

When acceding to the 1967 Protocol, Venezuela entered reservations to the following provisions of the the 1951 Refugee Convention (which the Protocol applies):

• Article 17 (Wage-earning employment)
• Article 22 (Public education)
• Article 23 (Public relief)
• Article 24 (Labour legislation and social security)
• Article 26 (Freedom of movement)
• Article 31 (Refugees unlawfully in the country of refuge – penalties for illegal entry)
• Article 32 (Expulsion)
• Article 34 (Naturalisation)

Venezuela has not acceded to or ratified the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, which establishes a framework for the international protection of stateless persons, or the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, which sets out rules for the conferral and non-withdrawal of citizenship to prevent cases of statelessness from arising. 

In addition to its obligations under the aforementioned international instruments, Venezuela is obligated to respect the international customary legal principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits any country from deporting any person to a country where they face the threat of persecution.

In addition to these international protection frameworks, Venezuela also acceded to the following regional asylum instruments: 

• • 1928 Havana Convention on Asylum, which establishes the principle of granting asylum to politically persecuted individuals within diplomatic missions.
  • 1954 Caracas Convention on Territorial Asylum, which defines the conditions under which diplomatic asylum can be granted in embassies or legations. 

• 1984 Cartagena Declaration on Refugees, a non-binding instrument which extends the definition of “refugee” in the 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocol including to persons who have fled their countries because their life, safety, or freedom have been threatened by widespread violence, foreign aggression, internal conflicts, or massive violations of human rights.

• 2004 Mexico Declaration and Plan of Action, which aims to strengthen refugee protection in Latin America. 

Venezuela has also ratified several other international legal instruments that also relate to treatment of refugees, including the:

• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which sets out protections for a wide range of human rights, including freedom from torture and other cruel or unusual punishment, fair trial rights, equality, and non-discrimination.

• International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which ensures the enjoyment of economic, social, and cultural rights to education, fair and just working conditions, adequate standards of living, social security, and the highest attainable standard of health. 

• Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which protects children’s rights and obliges public bodies to consider children’s best interests. 

• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which sets out provisions to ensure women’s full enjoyment of human rights on an equal basis with men. 

• International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), which obliges signatories to take action to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination.

• Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which seeks to eliminate disability discrimination and safeguard the rights of disabled people. 

• International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (CMW), which sets standards for national laws and procedures to protect migrant workers’ rights. 

Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), which requires signatories to take effective measures to prevent acts of torture.

Article 69 of the Bolivarian Constitution of Venezuela “recognises and guarantees the right of asylum and refuge,” and the Organic Law on Refugees and Asylees (Ley Orgánica sobre Refugiados o Refugiadas y Asilados o Asiladas (2001) – LORRAA) regulates matters related to refuge and asylum in accordance with the terms enshrined in the Constitution of Venezuela and international instruments on refuge, asylum, and human rights, ratified by Venezuela.   

Article 5 of LORRAA enshrines the principal of non-refoulement (i.e. the prohibition of returning someone to a country where they face danger) and Article 12 of LORRAA creates the National Commission for Refugees (Comisión Nacional para los Refugiados – CONARE) which is responsible for the Refugee Status Determination (RSD) procedure set out in Articles 14 to 21 of LORRAA. CONARE is regulated by Decree No. 2,491 of 2003 – Regulations of the Organic Law on Refugees and Asylees. Art. 5 of the Decree also sets out the minimum requirements for an application for asylum.