UN HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ALERTS IN ITS REPORT ON VIOLATIONS AND ABUSES OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN VENEZUELA
Aula Abierta – Juan Manuel Bracho.- The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) published on Friday, June 22nd, 2018, a new report entitled “Violations of Human Rights in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela: a descending spiral that does not seem to have an end “, which manifests the omission on behalf of the Venezuelan State to punish those responsible for the serious human rights violations in the context of the demonstrations, which include homicides, excessive use of the force against demonstrators, arbitrary arrests, abuses and torture. Along with the unsustainable economic and social crisis that crosses the country is evident, with specific mention to the rights to food and health.
This report by the OHCHR updates the information published in 2017, which focused on the excessive use of force and the alleged extrajudicial executions that occurred in the context of the protests. This new report documents testimonies about the extrajudicial executions perpetrated in the course of alleged anti-crime operations, which were carried out since 2015 under the name of “People’s Liberation Operations (OLP by its acronym in Spanish)”.
This new report addresses issues such as: access to justice in the case of the deaths related to protests, excessive use of force and deaths caused by security operations, arbitrary arrests and violations of guarantees of the due process, torture, abuse and conditions of detention, attacks and restrictions on the democratic space and violations of the right to health and food.
Among other aspects, the report emphasizes the attacks directed at university students in Venezuela, making reference in its report to denunciations made by Aula Abierta, together with a coalition of university centers on human rights, among these the Human Rights Commission of the Faculty of Legal and Political Sciences of the University of Zulia, the Observatory of Human Rights of the University of the Andes and the Center for Peace and Human Rights of the Central University of Venezuela.
In segment F called “On Attacks against political opponents, social activists and human rights defenders”, it is reported that, during the protests of 2017, at least 17 university professors were arbitrarily detained. The reasons for their detention went from publication of critical ideas against state public policies to participation in demonstrations against the current Venezuelan government. Out of these 17 teachers, 7 were brought before the military courts. (See page 38 of the UN report).
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In a similar manner, it highlights the persecution of student leaders and professors which was part of a series of repressive actions orchestrated by the security forces to prohibit and dissolve protests and meetings held within university facilities, often using unnecessary excessive force as well as arbitrary detentions. (See page 38 of the UN report). Available on the website: http://aulaabiertavenezuela.org/
In this regard, OHCHR concludes that impunity appears to be widespread for the benefit of the security forces in Venezuela, allegedly responsible for systematic patterns aimed at violating human rights. The state authorities have not investigated in a timely and effective manner the cases of excessive use of force and the deaths of demonstrators after the actions carried by security forces. According to the High Commissioner, several relatives of the victims indicated that “they had lost their trust in the justice system and that they did not expect the Government to be held accountable in an irrefutable manner.”
Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said: “Failure to hold the security forces accountable for the grave human rights violations that have been perpetrated suggests that the rule of law is practically absent in Venezuela. ”
Similarly, the report emphasizes the fact that civil society organizations that are engaged in documenting and denouncing human rights violations also continue to face severe legal restrictions, smear campaigns, threats and harassment, as well as accusations of perpetration of crimes, such as acts of terrorism and treason
On the other hand, it points out that the Government has refused to recognize the magnitude of the country’s food crisis, thus failing to comply with its obligation under international standards to ensure the exercise of the rights to health and food. Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said that “There are families that are forced to look for food in garbage containers. According to some estimates, 87 percent of the population in Venezuela is affected by poverty, and 61.2 percent are in extreme poverty; 1.5 million people have had to leave the country since 2014. ”
Finally, it should be noted that the Government of Venezuela has not granted the UN Human Rights Office access to the country, despite repeated requests, and given the seriousness and nature of the violations, High Commissioner Zeid has recommended to the Human Rights Council that a Commission of Inquiry be established on the situation in Venezuela.
https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/VE/VenezuelaReport2018_SP.pdf
