UN calls for inquiry into Venezuela civilian deaths

THE UNITED NATIONS human rights chief has called for an international investigation into atrocities in Venezuela, and criticised the government’s refusal to investigate security officers over the alleged killings of civilians.

“The failure to hold security forces accountable for such serious human rights violations suggests that the rule of law is virtually absent in Venezuela,” said Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein yesterday.

The UN rights office released a report on the country and said its findings relate mostly to alleged abuses committed during purported anti-crime operations. The report highlights alleged extra-judicial killings by officers in the unit known as Operations for the Liberation of the People.

It said those officers may have been responsible for more than 500 killings between July 2015 and March 2017, largely carried out in poor areas.

UN investigators have been denied access to Venezuela. The findings were based on remote monitoring as well as interviews with victims, witnesses, civil society groups and others.