[Public lecture] Venezuela: Voices from the ground

Victoria Capriles is a visiting research fellow at the Asser Institute. She is conducting research at the Asser Institute through the Shelter City programme run by Justice and Peace Netherlands. Victoria has recently had an interview with NOS about the current situation in Venezuela. The conversations appeared across print media, radio, and television.

Geraldine Chacón Villarroel is a Venezuelan attorney and public policy consultant. As a former Amnesty International-designated prisoner of conscience, she has worked as a human rights consultant for organisations such as the World Organization Against Torture. She has engaged with the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the International Criminal Court in the case of Venezuela I as part of international justice efforts to address the Venezuelan situation. Geraldine currently resides in the UK, where she collaborates with interfaith practitioners, members of Parliament, government officials, and civil society to promote international human rights.

Tomás Alberto Chang Pico is a Venezuelan-born lawyer specialising in international law, development, and political economy. Tomás has over 15 years’ NGO and philanthropy experience. He has lived and worked across Costa Rica, the United States, Spain, and the Netherlands. His work encompasses public health, inclusion of marginalised communities, gender equality, journalism and freedom of expression, all rooted in a human rights approach, with strengths in facilitation, capacity development, strategic planning, and advocacy, including strategic public interest litigation. Since 202,1 he has chaired the International Drug Policy Consortium and, as of December 2025, serves as Treasurer of Article 19 Europe; he consults with Dimes Consultancy, advises NCOD, and teaches at the University of Amsterdam. His education includes a law degree and a B.A. in Liberal Arts from Universidad Metropolitana (UNIMET), an M.A. in International Law and Settlement of Disputes from the UN-mandated University for Peace (UPEACE), and an Erasmus Mundus M.A. in Public Policy and International Development from the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) of Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) and the Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals (IBEI). 

Yvonne Donders is a professor of international human rights and cultural diversity at the Department of International and European Public Law. She is the (interim) director of the Amsterdam Graduate School at the faculty of law of the University of Amsterdam. She is also an elected member of the UN Human Rights Committee.