Overview of Human Rights in Venezuela

Recently, issues such as the undermining of the independence of the judiciary, harassment of the political opposition, police brutality, and infringement upon citizens’ privacy rights, have been noted as concerns articulated by domestic and international human rights organizations in Venezuela. In recent years, hundreds of police executions have been reported.  Typically, unlawful killings of suspects go uninvestigated and unpunished.   However, in 2005, the Attorney General’s office announced it was investigating over 5,500 alleged extrajudicial executions committed since 2000. Meanwhile, police and security forces in Venezuela are known to arbitrarily arrest and detain suspects, while detainees are known to be abused. The government sometimes uses police and security forces to wiretap and search private homes and businesses. Intimidation of the media, journalists, political opposition, labor unions, the Catholic Church, and human rights groups are also done by security forces at the behest of the government. Prison conditions in Venezuela are harsh. Issues such as overcrowding, prison riots, inmate violence, and police guard brutality, are also problematic. Armed gangs maintain effective control in some prisons in Venezuela. Child abuse, discrimination against persons with disabilities, and human trafficking are other human rights abuses committed in this country.

Human Development Index (HDI) Rank:

72nd out of 177

Note: Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite index that measures the level of well-being of nations in the world. It uses factors such as poverty, literacy, life-expectancy, education, gross domestic product, and purchasing power parity to assess the average achievements in each nation. It has been used in the United Nation’s Human Development Report since 1993.