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Omct individual region map america 01
CAT status Status under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment State Party since 29 July, 1991
Reviewed 2014 Read review

Venezuela

At a glance

In recent years, Venezuela has been at the center of attention in the region due to its political, economic and social situation, which amounts to a complex humanitarian emergency. A context of generalised crisis, characterised by endless hyperinflation, insufficient minimum wages, periods of scarcity and / or shortage of essential products and services, including food, water or medicines, as well as by the commission of serious human rights violations by the State security forces, has led to an increase in the demand for the respect of rights. On the other hand, restrictions on the right to defend human rights in the country have been tightened.

The OMCT, together with COFAVIC, a member of its SOS-Torture Network, has documented a sustained increase in extrajudicial executions, acts of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, as well as arbitrary detentions and forced disappearances. This has been coupled with an increase in social conflict and the systematic repression of the right to social protest. The State's response has been to criminalize and intensify attacks on those who protest, identifying any person who demands rights as an enemy of the State. In March 2020, the OMCT published, together with COFAVIC and other partners, the report Venezuela, internal enemies, highlighting the causes that promote the vulnerability of people and organisations that defend human rights in the country.

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