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AUGUST 2021 Situation of Human Rights in Venezuela
INTRODUCTION
In the 70s and 80s, Venezuela was the country chosen by many nationalities
to migrate, due to the opportunity and progress of the country. However, in
1989 Venezuela began its decline due to corruption, political and economic
problems. From the first appearance of the military communist Hugo Chavez
and his ascent to the presidency of the country, he triggered a collapse at the
political, social, economic level, and innumerable human rights violations. Ae
is also awardedsta Chavista revolution with Cuban interference in charge of
forced displacement by Venezuelans. To understand a little more thoroughly,
a summary of the events that occurred from 1989 to the present date is
developed.
General characteristics.
History of human rights violations since 1989
15,668 political detentions since 2014 and more than 9,000 people
arbitrarily subjected to restrictive freedom measures
Climate of repressive actions against activists and NGOs.
Forced displacement.
Covid-19
PÁGINA 01 | INTRODUCTIONPÁGINA 02
BACKGROUND OF HUMAN RIGHTS
VIOLATIONS FROM 1989 TO 2020
YEAR 1989 YEAR 1998
In 1989, due to the changes implemented by The Venezuelan population with indices of
former President Carlos Andres Perez,were corruption and poverty tired of the 2 big and main
generated protests, deep riots, looting and parties: AD and COPEI. They decide to give the
destructionin dozens of businesses. The protests new political movement with a socialist tendency a
and violence intensified in such a way that chance. and on December 6, 1998 Hugo Chávez
President Pérez was forced to order military was proclaimed President of the Republic of
repression and a curfew, which is known as the Venezuela. This victory for Hugo Chávez would be
CARACAZO led by those who considered an the first and only legitimately won election.
injustice and social inequality, inviting many
discontents to join the his feeling. YEAR 2001-2002
YEAR 1992 After promulgation of presidential decrees of 49
laws by the presidency, thousands of companies
Hugo Chavez, a military man with a socialist and demonstrated against the laws, calling for protests
communist ideology, took advantage of the and strikes in general, thus unleashing the support
moment Venezuelans are living to sell himself as of members of the armed forces, who demanded
a savior who would end political corruption and the resignation of Chavez.
social inequality and on February 4, 1992, he led
a failed coup against President Carlos Andrés On April 11, 2002, while a large peaceful
Pérez, of the social democratic political party AD opposition demonstration was taking place
(Democratic Action). demanding the resignation of Chávez. The regime
took as a measure to activate the Avila plan
The failed coup caused many deaths, there were (military contingency plan), which consisted of the
damaging consequences for the country that use of snipers to neutralize the protesters, with
would eventually turn into dire Hugo Chávez. He these actions 18 died and 150 were injured. This
addressed the country, saying that "for now" the generated a constitutional breakdown and a de
objectives had not been met. This message was facto government was installed, lasting only 24
addressed to those who advocated their ideology hours, represented by Pedro Carmona Estanga.
and socialist and egalitarian concepts, the vast However, demonstrations in support of Chavez
majority of whom were the low-income were generated that produced violent acts, leaving
population, representing 54.2% of the population. approximately 60 murders attributed by police
(34.4% population in critical poverty and 19.8% agents, which represented a clear violation of the
population in extreme poverty) 1999 constitution. Everything failed and on April
14, Chavez regained control.
YEAR 1994
The newly elected president, Rafael Caldera,
withdraws the charges and releases Hugo Chávez,
who decides to form a political group with a
leftist tendency, called the V Republic Movement
(MVR).
SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN VENEZUELA IN 2020.PÁGINA 03
YEARS 2003-2005
These restrictions are derived from the reforms to
In mid-2003 a movement to collect signatures the Penal Code, which legalized the crimes of
began with the aim of a recall referendum. the “contempt for public authority” and “obstruction
president, said in Aló Presidente that: of public roads”, and from the Organic Law on
Security and Defense, which defined reserved
"those who sign against Chávez will be signing against areas where demonstrations are prohibited.
the country, against the future," and added that
whoever signs in favor of the recall referendum "will
be recorded in history, because they will have to put
their name, surname, signature, identity card number YEAR 2006
and fingerprint ”
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights in its
After the February 2004 referendum, on the Aló 2006 annual report reported that public workers
Presidente program, President Chávez denounce being coerced into participating with
announced that he had requested the collection clothing that identifies them with Chavez's party,
of photocopies of the signatures. Luis Tascón, a in acts formalized by the regime. Furthermore,
Chavista deputy, published the list of signatories those who refused to carry out the orders would be
on his website, a database of more than fired. To exemplify the type of pressure that
2,400,000 Venezuelans who had supported the public servants are subjected to, part of a speech
petition, along with their identity card number. delivered by Mr. Rafael Ramirez, minister of
This unleashed political persecution, energy and oil and president of PDVSA, is
discriminating against opponents and firing at transcribed, in which he quotes:
state companies for not sympathizing with the
regime. “We have to clearly say, As you have been listening to
me in the areas that I am saying and that we are
This list was a case of political persecution and repeating, that yesterday it was even said in the press
human rights violations, it being understood that that the new PDVSA is red, red, from top to bottom. Our
the right to protection of freedom of expression pulse does not tremble, we removed 19,500 enemies of
and privacy in voting was violated. this country from this company and we are willing to
continue doing so, to ensure that this company is aligned
Since 2004, laws restricting freedom of and responds to the love that our people have expressed
expression have been enacted in Venezuela, for our president, here we are supporting to Chávez and
enforced by the National Telecommunications whoever does not feel comfortable with this orientation,
Commission (CONATEL), a state body not it is necessary that he cede his position to a Bolivarian ”
independent of the National Executive. With
these laws, the media and journalists are exposed We have infiltrations from the squalid (opponents), from
daily to the risk of being accused of committing the enemies of this revolution? Well, if this is the case,
a crime for expressing or disseminating you know that we (the Chavistas) are not going to allow
opinions, if these are interpreted by the them, when we (the Chavistas) detect issues like this, we
government as "incitement to war", "alteration of are going to liquidate it forcefully ”
public order", "attempt against security of the
nation or against the honor and reputation of These expressions had been endorsed by other
officials ”. On the other hand, since 2005 there state officials. This is a clear example that reflects
have been strong restrictions to exercise the right coercion and intimidation of public servants for
to protest and criminalization practices against violating their political and association rights.
those who exercise it.
SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN VENEZUELA IN 2020.PÁGINA 04
The political partiality of the public powers In
The Public Ministry, the Ombudsman's Office and
breach of article 145 of the Constitution, which
the TSJ came to classify public protest as a "crime"
prohibits all officials from serving a political
and authorized "preventive" arrests against
partiality, since 2006 the Executive authorities
protesters.
and almost all the high-ranking officials of the
powers Public officials, including the President
With the increasing expropriations by the national
of the Republic himself, are active members of
executive, against private companies, article 17 of
the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV)
the universal declaration of human rights is
and occupy leadership positions in its ranks,
violated, in which it cites:
showing the degree to which the ideological
adherence of the public function has reached
Everyone has the right to property, property
and the serious restrictions that exist in
individually and collectively.
Venezuela for equality and impartiality in the
No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.
guarantee of rights
YEAR 2010
YEAR -2007-2009
With the Law of Participation and Popular Power,
At this time, Chávez intensified the
in 2010, aimed at "building the foundations of a
expropriations of private companies with great
socialist society within which citizens are expected
attention to communications companies. The
to" consciously substitute their individual values
most recognized worldwide was when the
for the values of the collective. "
Chavez government refused to renew the
broadcasting license of the RCTV television
This intensified the apology for national hatred
channel, being critical of President Chávez,
and the militarization of public powers and
which generated massive protests against the
society, the open partiality of public powers
closure of the television plant and strong
accompanied by hate speech used by government
condemnation. international.
spokesmen, against those who questioned or did
not share the government's ideology. It became
These measures result in a violation of freedom
frequent to hear in speeches the permanent
of expression and freedom of the press, likewise,
confrontation between Bolivarians, patriots,
multiple complaints were generated in the Inter-
revolutionaries, sons of Bolívar, brothers,
American Court of Human Rights against the
comrades for the affections of his government, on
spring law and the progressive deterioration of
the one hand; while on the other hand terms such
the exercise of freedom of expression, due to
as "enemies", "immoral", "counterrevolutionaries",
intimidation, discredit professional against
"oligarchs", "stateless", "squalid", "coup plotters",
independent journalists, in addition to a context
"fascists", "terrorists", "pitiyanquis", "sell homeland
of retaliation against officials who made
"," Traitors "," conspirators "," stateless bourgeois ","
decisions contrary to the interests of the
lackeys of the empire ", for the rest of the
government, lack of independence and
Venezuelans, who do not support their political
autonomy of the judiciary from the political
project
power as one of the weakest points of
The progressive militarization of public
democracy.
organizations, with a significant number of active
military personnel playing public functions and
In 2009, the largest number of protests in the
the constant reference that the government makes
last decade was recorded, along with which the
to the need to propose an "internal order of war",
practices of intolerance and repression exercised
under the justification of defending itself from the
by State agencies also increased.
"enemies of the revolution" inside and outside the
country.
SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN VENEZUELA IN 2020.PÁGINA 05
Likewise, restrictions on freedom of expression According to the information reported, the people
is one of the rights most severely affected in who expressed their critical or independent
recent years. According to the Freedom House positions vis-à-vis the Government have suffered
Press Freedom Index, Venezuela and Cuba are the attack. and the electronic attack would have
the only two Latin American countries consisted of the insertion of texts with insults,
considered "Not Free." In 2010, protests were threats and stigmatizations, as well as the
repressed by at least 150 police officers, who disclosure of private information, destruction of
attacked the protesters using toxic gases, data and threats to publicly identify the sources of
prohibited substances, pellets, bullet shots and information of those affected.
blows, resulting in injuries, deceased students,
and detainees who, in some cases, kept them The objective of the hacking and the violations of
held incommunicado or were subjected to the right to personal integrity and privacy was
torture, beatings and threats to their physical attributed to a supporter of President Chávez,
integrity. known as the N33 group, who alleged that the
purpose of the interventions was to prevent the
In addition, there were assaults and violation of legitimate owners of the accounts from using them
property by armed groups identified with the " under the excuse of freedom of expression "to
government (collectives). and finally around 30 attack the Venezuelan institutions and the head of
people banned him from participating in public state; After that, it was unknown that the State will
protests. punish those responsible. with these actions by the
group related to the Venezuelan government, and
YEAR 2011-2013 article 12 of the universal declaration of human
rights was violated, in which it cites:
According to the annual report of the IACHR, it
was informed that a decree published in 2011 in No one will be subjected to arbitrary interference in his
the Official Gazette granted the Vice President of private life, his family, his home, or his correspondence,
the Republic the unilateral power to define the or attacks on his honor or reputation. Everyone has the
rectory of public policies in everything related to right to the protection of the law against such
the radioelectric spectrum and the authority to interference or attacks
"grant, revoke, renew and suspend" radio and
television frequency concessions. This triggered
the absence of guarantees of independence of the YEAR 2014
bodies in charge of applying the Law of Social
Responsibility in Radio, Television and Massive protests led by the opposition and
Electronic Media. students were held attracting world attention, the
main crime problems in the country, social and
National organizations defending the right to economic fueled the protests. The state responded
freedom of expression have registered 21 to the protests by creating popular anti-coup
complaints of restrictions on journalists' access to commands that would have the function of
sources of official information, which include counteracting the opposition's “fascist” plans.
both limitations to enter public buildings and These commands are made up of the Bolívar-
discrimination against private media to Chávez Battles units (UBCh) within the Socialist
participate in conferences of press of public Party of Venezuela (PSUV), collectives and the
organizations. Likewise, violations of the right to National Guard (FANB).
personal integrity and privacy concerning the
intervention or hacking of the electronic
accounts of journalists, writers, human rights
defenders and politicians in social networks,
blogs and email accounts.
SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN VENEZUELA IN 2020.PÁGINA 06
These measures left at least 43 people dead in in groups to implement excessive force against
acts of violence, hundreds were injured and unarmed protesters, passers-by, and in many cases
2,730 arbitrary detentions, of which 358 were detained people remain in military prisons.
adolescents and many detentions had
implications of violations of due process Some of the detainees suffered abuses that
guarantees. included violent beatings, electric shocks, burns,
such is the case of the university student Jose
I know evidence of the illegitimate use of force Gregorio Hernandez Carrazco who was detained
and other abuses frequently accompanied by two (2) days after participating in a peaceful
political disqualifications suggesting that the demonstration against the regime. Jose Gregorio
government's purpose was not to restore public explained that he was tortured with techniques
order or disperse protests, but rather to punish such as suffocation with a plastic bag, electric
people for their actual or alleged political views. shocks, placing a stick in his rectum while they
threatened to use the stick to rape him.
In most of the cases documented by Human April 2017 begins a wave of protests at the National
Rights Watch, those detained during this period level that by mid-July have already claimed the
were subjected by members of the security lives of more than 90 people. The protesters are
forces to physical abuse such as: demanding early presidential elections and the
beatings with fists, helmets, and firearms; suspension of a Constituent Assembly
Electric shock or burns; implemented by Maduro.
Force them to squat or kneel, without
moving, for several hours; It is international knowledge that in today's
Being handcuffed to other detainees, Venezuela there are no independent government
sometimes in pairs and other times in human institutions that act as a brake on the executive
chains of dozens of people, for several hours power, the Venezuelan government under Maduro
at a time; and previously under Chavez, has filled the courts
Long periods of exposure to extreme heat or with judges who are not independent, the
cold. government has been repressing dissent through
strong, often violent measures against street
YEAR 2015-2017 protests, jailing opponents and prosecuting
civilians in military courts, has also disempowered
The accumulation of power in the regime and the opposition-led legislature, in response to the
the deterioration in the guarantees of human political, humanitarian crisis and human rights,
rights, allowed the regime to intimidate and hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans are fleeing
persecute critics, and act criminally against them, the country.
protesters who suffered abuses committed by
members of the security force were arbitrarily According to Foro Penal, from April 1 to
detained. Security, police and military raids were November 30, 2017, there were 5,462 people
carried out that gave rise to widespread arbitrarily arrested for political purposes, and 354
complaints of abuse, other concerns that persist people remain detained as political prisoners who
are impunity for human rights violations and languished in Venezuelan prisons or in intelligence
continuous harassment against human rights services headquarters such as SEBIN, DGCIM.
defenders, critics of the regime and independent With arbitrary arrests, article 9 of the universal
media. declaration of human rights is violated, in which it
According to the 2017 annual report by Human cites:
Right Watch, it states that members of the
security forces and groups work
SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN VENEZUELA IN 2020.PÁGINA 07
No one may be arbitrarily detained, imprisoned or
In the CASLA institute report for 2019 some
exiled
testimonies emerge, such as;
YEAR 2018-2019
- The Cuban regime had around 100,000
For at least a decade the government as well as
officials in Venezuela. Currently there are
the institutions controlled by it have applied laws
about 40,000. Currently, there are also Russian
and policies that have accelerated the erosion of
agents.
the rule of law, and the dismantling of
- This penetration is achieved both among
democratic institutions, including the national
students and in all state institutions. By order of
assembly. These measures are aimed at
Cuban officials, those that are most penetrated
neutralizing, repressing and criminalizing
are the Armed Forces and basic companies.
political opponents and critics of the
- This method is used to locate key figures, who
government. This trend has been growing since
according to their profile and preparation can
2016 after the opposition won the majority of the
be used in specific tasks, such as infiltrating
seats in the National Assembly, which led to an
protests, being a multiplier agent or a strike
increase in repression of the political opposition
force, all coordinated by the Cubans.
and an incessant restriction of the already
- Another of the complainants assured that a
limiting democratic space. .
group of selected men participates in the
.
course of "psychological operation", an
In the 2019 OHCHR annual report, he cites that
academic training that seeks to modify
“Pro-government civilian armed groups known as
behavior by influencing opinion. This in order
colectivos have contributed to the deterioration of the
to carry out campaigns in the military sector, in
situation by imposing social control and helping to
the SEBIN (Bolivarian National Intelligence
suppress demonstrations. The Office has documented
Service), DGCIM (General Directorate of
66 deaths during the protests that took place from
Military Counterintelligence), as well as in the
January to May 2019, of which 52 are attributable to
media. Once graduated, they are appointed
the Government security forces or to the groups ”.
according to their abilities.
The proportion of alleged extrajudicial executions
- With this manipulation they seek social
committed by the security forces, in particular by the
control, when they lose this control, they
Special Forces (FAES), in the context of police
appeal to repression.
operations indicates that in 2018 the Government
- There is a department to monitor social
recorded 5,287 deaths, supposedly due to “resistance to
networks. There they build opinion matrices
authority”, in the course of those operations. Other
that are later multiplied by the spokesmen of
sources suggest that the figures could be much higher.
the regime, through TV and Radio programs.
This office is controlled by Cuban agents.
In October 2019, Nicolás Maduro, admitted
Cuban interference in Venezuela, the president
Regarding torture, in most cases, of the few
in a message about the brotherhood between
complainants say that those who apply the torture
Caracas and Havana said:
techniques are Cuban agents. They can be
distinguished because they wear long beards, and
“Let us continue military cooperation with Cuba and
because of the accent, as one of the speakers
at the intelligence level to strengthen Venezuela's
assures that he was hung by the arms and his feet
comprehensive defense capacity, from Cuba"
barely touched the ground, he described that he
received electric shocks until his nails came off the
The Cuban regime not only has penetrated all
fingers. He said that he received so many blows
public institutions in Venezuela, it also runs a
that at times he preferred to die and pointed out
psychological training school and carries out
that the torturers were Cuban agents.
torture to obtain statements that involve
important opposition figures.
SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN VENEZUELA IN 2020.PÁGINA 08
Another participant said that in the same room
where he was tortured, a woman was raped and The OHCHR documented 16 cases in which the
sodomized with sticks. One of the complainants use of methods such as beatings, electric shocks,
recalled having been brutally beaten in search of suffocation and sexual violence was reported. The
a statement against a political leader and that by UN Mission to Determine the Facts on Venezuela
not offering them, he was also raped with sticks reported on the use of increasingly violent torture
while receiving electric shocks. It is also clear methods by the Bolivarian National Intelligence
from the victims that few people file complaints, Service (SEBIN) and the General Directorate of
for fear of reprisals or lack of confidence in the Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM), as well as
judicial system. The excessive use of force, the use of clandestine facilities by the DGCIM
torture and inhuman treatment applied by
Venezuelan officials to those deprived of liberty Also, impunity for human rights violations and
is a violation of article 5 of the universal crimes under international law continued to be the
declaration of human rights, in which it cites: norm, to such an extent that in September 2020,
the Public Ministry announced that 565 law
No one shall be subjected to torture or to punishment enforcement officials They had been accused of
or treatment cruel, burial or degrading. human rights violations committed since August
2017, that is, more than three years passed for the
YEAR 2020 Public Ministry to give results of the investigation
regarding human rights violations by officials.
The International Independent Fact-Finding
Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, In Venezuela's ongoing human rights crisis, news
established by the UN, determined that there was once again received about extrajudicial
were reasonable grounds to believe that crimes executions, excessive use of force, and illegal
against humanity have been committed in the killings committed by the security forces over the
country since 2014 and that President Maduro years. Critics of government policies, such as
and senior military officials and Ministerial journalists, health professionals and political
authorities had ordered the crimes documented activists, were subjected to repressive measures
in the report he presented, or had contributed to that included criminalization, unfair trials and
their commission. arbitrary detention. Reports of torture and other
ill-treatment and forced disappearance of
The excessive and illegal use of force by the arbitrarily detained persons were received. The
police, army and armed groups against humanitarian crisis worsens, with widespread
protesters remained widespread. The authorities shortages of services and high rates of extreme
did not take significant steps to prevent it. There poverty.
were numerous reports of indiscriminate use of
force during law enforcement operations. According to the PROVEA report, 96% of the
According to reports from the Office of the surveyed households present income poverty, 54%
United Nations High Commissioner for Human qualify in the line of recent poverty and 41% in
Rights (OHCHR), at least 2,000 people died in chronic poverty.
the country in the context of security operations
that took place between January 1 and September
2020.
SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN VENEZUELA IN 2020.15,668 POLITICAL DETENTIONS SINCE 2014 AND
MORE THAN 9,000 PEOPLE ARBITRARILY
SUBJECTED TO RESTRICTIVE FREEDOM MEASURES
For almost seven (7) years, Venezuela has remained in a state of alarm, and continues in force, protests and
demonstrations were held in various states of the country, and It is in this context of the protests that the
greatest number of arrests are made, both of protesters and members of human rights organizations, activists of
various causes and journalists.
There have been multiple arbitrary arrests of both civil society leaders and citizens who have exercised their
right to demonstrate, such as tweeters, journalists, lawyers, teachers, politicians and activists. Most of these
arrests were carried out by members of the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) and the Special Action Forces
(FAES).
Venezuelan non-governmental organizations Provea and Laboratorio de Paz denounced that by May 2021 the
"arbitrary arrests" of at least 628 people since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020 for
exercising "their right to demonstrate", and even for expressing its position makes the Venezuelan government
uncomfortable. Thus violating article 20 of the universal declaration of human rights, where it cites:
Everyone has the right to freedom of assembly and peaceful association.
No one may be forced to belong to an association.
According to the organization Foro Penal, since 2014 and until the end of 2020 a total of 15,668 political
detainees has been added, the year 2020 closed with a number of 351 political prisoners, in addition to political
prisoners, more than 9,000 people are still subject, arbitrarily to restrictive measures of their freedom that the
judicial system imposed on them. Some of these would be:
Home detention in your own home or in the custody of another person, without any surveillance or with
what the court orders.
The obligation to submit to the care and supervision of a specific person or institution, which will be in
charge of regularly reporting to the court
The periodic presentation to the court or the authority designated by
the prohibition to leave the country, from the locality in which resides, or the territorial scope set by the
court.
The prohibition of political-conspiratorial meetings.
The prohibition of communicating with specific people, as long as the right of defense is not affected.
Prohibition of using social networks to spread messages
Any other preventive or precautionary measure that the court, through a reasoned order, deems appropriate
or necessary. In the event that the accused is subject to a previous substitute precautionary measure, the
court must evaluate the entity of the new crime committed, the pre-criminal conduct of the accused and the
magnitude of the damage, in order to grant or not a new substitute precautionary measure. In no case may
three or more substitute precautionary measures be granted to the accused, contemporaneously.
SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN VENEZUELA IN 2020.CLIMATE OF REPRESSIVE ACTIONS AGAINST
ACTIVISTS AND NGOS.
Human rights defenders and organizations dedicated to this work in Venezuela have for many years been the
object of actions of disqualification, intimidation and harassment by officials and official media.
Repressive actions are taken to silence citizens who have opinions contrary to the propaganda imposed by the
Venezuelan government, they do so regardless of the scope of their words, no one is exempt. The scope of
opinion is not a measure for the regime that imposes actions without apparent logic.
Lawyer teachers, artists, housewives, tweeters, students, trade unionists, workers, farmers, health personnel,
former officials, journalists, businessmen, merchants, politicians, athletes and activists are among the victims
who have been under an environment repressive, harassment and intimidation; These practices are intended to
silence so that they refrain from acting or expressing their opinions autonomously and independently, they also
occur before the indifference of the national protection and justice bodies, and violate international norms that
oblige States to protect and stimulate the work of defense of human rights, as well as to protect those who are
dedicated to promoting and defending them, as appropriate in a democratic society. Thus violating article 19 of
the universal declaration of human rights, where he cites:
Every individual has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; This right includes not being disturbed because
of his opinions, to investigate and receive information and opinions, and to disseminate them without limitation of
borders, by any means of expression.
Human rights defenders suffered stigmatization and found it difficult to carry out their work. The actions
against defenders include murder and assaults against personal integrity, which remain unpunished, as well as
arbitrary arrests and charges of crimes without due process, for the fact of denouncing or protesting peacefully,
and there have even been cases such as that of a journalist named Carlos Julio Rojas who detained him after
participating in a peaceful demonstration and was tried by a military court, accused of treason against the
integrity, independence and freedom of the nation,
According to the Directorate for the Protection of Fundamental Rights of the Public Ministry, based on the
"Follow-up Plan for Cases of Violation of Fundamental Rights" by officials, which include the crimes of
homicides, injuries, violation of domicile, illegitimate deprivation of freedom, torture and forced disappearance,
“it was possible to consolidate the figures corresponding to the cases initiated in the different prosecutors,
during the years 2000 to 2007, with a total of thirty-nine thousand six hundred and fifty-four (39,654) cases
being charged. four hundred forty-two (442) officials and of these three hundred and seventy (370) were the
object of a formal accusation ”. During 2008, based on the same Plan, a total of six thousand four hundred and
twenty-two (6,422) cases related to alleged human rights violations were registered. Five hundred and eighty-
four (584) public officials were charged, of which four hundred and sixty-three (463) were formally charged. "
During 2009, another 9,224 cases of violation of fundamental rights were brought to the Public Ministry. In
summary, according to figures from the Public Ministry, in 10 years there have been 55,300 cases of violation
of fundamental rights.
SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN VENEZUELA IN 2020.FORCED DISPLACEMENT
The increasing number of Venezuelan refugees and migrants fleeing their country to other countries in search
of international protection continued to increase, and until July 2021 it reached more than 5.6 million, this is
the starkest reflection of the crisis. social, political, economic and human rights in the Bolivarian Republic of
Venezuela.
June 2021, according to a report published by EASO, informs that until 2020 there are 30,940 records of
asylum applications from Venezuelans only in Europe. UNHCR considers that, although not all Venezuelans who
leave the country do so for reasons that could place them in the category of refugees, "a significant number of
these people really need international protection."
According to UNHCR, the main reasons that push Venezuelans to migrate are: the specific threats made by
armed groups; collectives; the fear of being targeted because of your political views; threats and extortion; high
crime rates; domestic violence; food insecurity; and the inability to access adequate medical care, medicines and
basic services.
UNHCR also reported that around 60 percent of Venezuelans who had left their country remain in an irregular
situation, making them particularly vulnerable to exploitation, extortion and violence, including sexual and
gender-based violence, human trafficking. , forced integration into criminal groups, discrimination and
xenophobia
Likewise, in the Amnesty International report, it details that the judicial system continued to use political tools
against dissent, which included passing sentences against political parties that criticized the government.
The policy of repression to silence dissent and control the population continued and intensified during the
COVID-19 pandemic and in the run-up to the December 2020 parliamentary elections.
SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN VENEZUELA IN 2020.COVID-19
The humanitarian emergency continued and intensified. The prevailing conditions such as the constant shortage
of basic services (water, electricity and fuel, among others), the deficient sanitary infrastructure and the
difficulty in accessing medicines and food - were aggravated by COVID-19 and seriously hinder the capacity of
the population to comply with the containment measures imposed to stop the pandemic.
In July, the UN Humanitarian Response Plan for Venezuela noted that US $ 762.5 million was needed to provide
humanitarian aid to 4.5 million people.
Until March 31, 157,943 cases of COVID-19 are reported, 146,196 people recovered and 1,577 deaths. But
although Venezuela reports better conditions than other neighboring countries and the official figures of the
Venezuelan government have been questioned since the doctors' union has denounced that the occupation of
hospital beds is increasing, which now reflects the higher incidence.
Now, while most governments in the world cover the costs of vaccination and even offer incentives to the
population to accelerate the process, Venezuelans who want to ensure their doses are faced with two
alternatives: have the "Carnet de la Patria "With this card, the government gives free vaccines to pro-
government militants in Venezuela, while Venezuelans who refuse to have the national card will have to buy the
vaccine on the black market at a cost of up to $ 300. By demanding that citizens belong to the "homeland
system" to access vaccination, the Venezuelan government is politically discriminated against, which is a
violation of article 7 of the universal declaration of human rights, in which it cites:
All are equal before the law and are entitled, without distinction, to equal protection of the law. Everyone is entitled
to equal protection against any discrimination that violates this declaration and against any provocation to such
discrimination
For the Venezuelan government, forcing citizens to register in the Patria System to be vaccinated is an act of
political discrimination and the system is targeted as a form of social control. By politicizing vaccination, a black
market for vaccines is generated that, according to experts, could have serious consequences for the health of
Venezuelans, since nobody knows the conditions in which the doses are obtained or maintained, nor the
legitimacy of the substances that are injected.
While the health authorities describe the vaccination campaign as "successful", health workers ask that the
doses are not only for the "revolutionaries" and warned that they will denounce "all these abuses and the
politicization of vaccination", it is a form of segregation, discrimination, that the vaccination process is different
from the identity card. Why? It's simple, not everyone is registered in the Patria System, according to the Ansa
Latina agency.
There are no figures yet on how many people have been vaccinated, but it is estimated that some 700,000
doses of the Russian Sputnik V and the Chinese Sinopharm have arrived in the country.
SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN VENEZUELA IN 2020.Bibliographic references https://cnnespanol.cnn.com/2019/05/03/cronologia-del-chavismo-y-madurismo-en-venezuela/ https://www.hrw.org/es/report/2014/05/05/castigados-por-protestar/violaciones-de-derechos-en-las-calles-centros-de https://www.infobae.com/2015/02/12/1626403-uno-uno-estos-son-los-43-muertos-las-protestas-contra-el-regimen-maduro- venezuela/ http://www.oas.org/es/cidh/expresion/docs/informes/anuales/2012%2003%2021%20Informe%20Anual%20RELE%202011%20impresi on.pdf https://www.civilisac.org/civilis/wp-content/uploads/informe-comprehensivo-2010-1.pdf http://paginas.ufm.edu/sabino/word/Articulos_sobre_temas_economico_sociales/pobreza_venezuela.pdf https://www.ohchr.org/SP/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24788&LangID=S https://www.cidh.oas.org/annualrep/2007sp/cap4Venezuela.sp.htm https://www.infobae.com/america/venezuela/2019/10/03/nicolas-maduro-admitio-la-injerencia-cubana-en-venezuela-y-ordeno- fortalecer-la-cooperacion-militar/ https://www.diariolasamericas.com/america-latina/venezuela-los-rostros-la-penetracion-del-regimen-cubano-n4200727 https://provea.org/actualidad/encovi-2020-venezuela-es-el-pais-mas-pobre-de-america-latina-y-el-perfil-nutricional-se-asemeja-a- paises-de-africa/ https://www.un.org/es/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights
Position of Our Foundation
The Foundation NewGeneration maintains the position of cataloging
Venezuela as a state that violates human rights and a sponsor of state
terrorism. Our report shows that in the last year there has been a
deterioration of the rule of law, in addition to that, Venezuelans are currently
living in a deep sector crisis due to inefficiency and poor government
management. That is why our Foundation requests the Government of the
Kingdom of the Netherlands to:
Keep Venezuela a dangerous state for the security of the Kingdom.
The Netherlands must continue the pressure in international mechanisms
and in the European Union condemn the regime of Nicolas Maduro and
maintain the sanctions against the regime.
The Netherlands should continue the implementation of the special policy
adopted by the Immigration Service to serve Venezuelan refugees.
The Netherlands should not recognize any election called by Nicolas
Madudo until the guarantees and rights to hold elections are in place.
Victor M Duenas Quelwys Bolaño.
President Counselor for Latin American Affairs
https://ngfoundation.nl/
De Tinnewide 184, 3901KP (+31) 97023394412 KVK: 81606109
Veenendaal info@ngfoundation.nlYou can also read
