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Independence of the justice system and access to justice in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, including for violations of economic and social rights, and the situation of human rights in the Arco Minero del Orinoco region (A/HRC/44/54)

Countries
Venezuela
Sources
UN HRC
Publication date
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Advance Unedited Version

Human Rights Council
Forty-fourth session
15 June–3 July 2020
Agenda item 4
Human rights situations that require the Council’s attention

Summary

Pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 42/25, the present report focuses on the independence of the justice system and access to justice, including for violations of economic and social rights, in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and the situation of human rights in the Arco Minero del Orinoco region.

I. Introduction

  1. This report is submitted pursuant to resolution 42/25 of the Human Rights Council, which requested the High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare for its forty-fourth session “a comprehensive written report on the situation of human rights in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, with a special focus on the independence of the justice system and access to justice, including for violations of economic and social rights and the situation of human rights in the Arco Minero del Orinoco region”.1 2. A report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (A/HRC/44/20), submitted to the forty-fourth session of the Human Rights Council pursuant to resolution 42/4, describes the general human rights situation in Venezuela between June 2019 and May 2020.2

  2. This report is based on information gathered and analyzed by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), including on the basis of interviews with victims and witnesses and other sources. For the chapters on the independence of the justice system and access to justice, OHCHR examined legislation, judicial documents, official Government documents, and reports of civil society organizations. OHCHR also interviewed active and former prosecutors and judges, lawyers, scholars, human rights defenders, victims and their relatives. For the chapter on the situation of human rights in the Arco Minero del Orinoco region, OHCHR conducted interviews with miners, indigenous peoples, health and environmental experts, journalists, civil society and other local actors. Whenever possible, OHCHR refers to official information and data.

  3. The findings presented in this report have been documented and corroborated in line with OHCHR methodology. OHCHR exercised due diligence to assess the credibility and reliability of all sources and crosschecked the information gathered to verify its validity.
    OHCHR sought informed consent from the sources it interviewed, ensuring confidentiality when requested, and took all appropriate measures to protect their identity.

  4. OHCHR assessed the information it collected in the light of international human rights law as applicable to Venezuela, and pertinent domestic legislation.