• Human Rights in Venezuela

    The April 2013 presidential election, held weeks after the death of President Hugo Chávez, resulted in a narrow victory for Chávez’s hand-picked successor, Nicolás Maduro, according to Venezuelan electoral authorities. The Supreme Court and the National Electoral Council rejected appeals filed by the opposition candidate, Henrique Capriles Radonski, challenging the results. The controversy over the results touched off street demonstrations and counterdemonstrations, which led to at least nine deaths and dozens of injured, as well as excessive use of force and arbitrary detentions by security forces.

  • Members of the National Bolivarian Police detain a demonstrator at anti-government protests in Caracas, Venezuela, March 22, 2014.
    © 2014 Associated Press
    Venezuela: Unarmed Protestors Beaten, Shot
    Venezuelan security forces have used unlawful force in response to antigovernment demonstrations, severely beating unarmed protesters and shooting them at point blank range, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Security forces also subjected detainees to severe physical and psychological abuse, including in some cases torture, and justice officials failed to safeguard detainees’ due process rights.
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Venezuela

  • UNASUR: Condemn Abuses in Venezuela
    Feb 26, 2015
    The Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) should condemn the grave human rights violations committed by the Venezuelan government against political opponents and protesters, Human Rights Watch said today. Venezuela should release people arbitrarily detained and bring to justice those responsible for abuses committed against protesters.
  • Venezuela: New Military Authority to Curb Protests
    Feb 12, 2015

    Venezuela has granted powers to the military to use force to control peaceful demonstrations.

  • Venezuela: Deaths in a Prison Protest
    Dec 1, 2014
    Venezuela should conduct prompt, thorough, and impartial investigations into the deaths of 35 inmates in the David Viloria Prison (known as Uribana prison), in Lara state. The government should overhaul its penitentiary system to improve prison conditions and address violence within prisons.
  • Venezuela before the UN Human Rights Committee
    Jul 29, 2014
  • Unasur: End Silence on Venezuela Abuses
    Jun 26, 2014
    Member states of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) should press the Venezuelan government to immediately address the serious human rights problems the country is facing.
  • Unasur: Letter on Human Rights in Venezuela
    Jun 26, 2014
  • UN Human Rights Council: Rights Defenders Behind Bars in Uzbekistan; Unlawful Force Against Protesters in Venezuela
    Jun 23, 2014
    Human Rights Watch is extremely concerned by Uzbekistan’s appalling human rights record across a wide spectrum of violations. Authorities target civil society activists, political opposition figures, and independent journalists. Human Rights Watch is also deeply concerned about the serious human rights situation in Venezuela, which is the worst we have seen in the country in years.
  • China, the world remembers Tiananmen massacre
    Jun 3, 2014
    Here's an uncomfortable truth confronting Chinese President Xi Jinping: It's 2014, but the pro-democracy, pro-rights sentiments that manifested across China as demonstrations in 1989 are still alive and well.
  • Venezuela: Unarmed Protestors Beaten, Shot
    May 5, 2014
    Venezuelan security forces have used unlawful force in response to antigovernment demonstrations, severely beating unarmed protesters and shooting them at point blank range, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Security forces also subjected detainees to severe physical and psychological abuse, including in some cases torture, and justice officials failed to safeguard detainees’ due process rights.
  • The Real Threat to Venezuela’s Democracy
    Apr 9, 2014
    Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro took to the opinion pages of The New York Times to counter the bad press his government has received for its crackdown on widespread protests over the past two months. Yet the steps he’s taken to respond to the protests at home have shown that the deficiencies of Venezuelan democracy are all too real.
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