Former Chile’s two-time President and current UN High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet have signed the document which states that “The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights continued to receive credible reports of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” Full Text -> MercoPress

“We continue to receive reports of extrajudicial killings continuing in the context of security operations. In early January, at least 14 individuals were allegedly killed during an operation conducted in the Caracas neighborhood of La Vega…,” Bachelet said. The official gave a brief speech before the UN Human Rights Council, giving an update on the report she wrote up in September 2020, which recognized that 2000 people had lost their lives in operations executed by security forces. Full Text-> HavanaTimes

Her report is yet another description of the viciousness and brutality of the Maduro regime and its indifference to the suffering of the Venezuelan people, as well as more proof that the situation continues to worsen. There are several key points, about repression and about the humanitarian situation. By ElliottAbrams. Full Text -> CouncilofForeignRelations

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, has expressed her concern about the “growing signs” of declining civic space in Venezuela. In his presentation on Thursday to the United Nations Human Rights Council, he indicated that his office had documented at least 66 cases of intimidation, harassment, exclusion and criminalization of “journalists, media outlets, human rights defenders, humanitarian workers, union leaders, members or supporters of the opposition, including This includes the elected members of the 2015 National Assembly and their families ”.By: Izer Hector. Full Text -> AmicoHoops

Interactive dialogue on:
oral update of the High Commissioner on the situation of human rights in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela 46th Regular Session of the Human Rights Council. Full Video -> UN Web TV

The Human Rights Council this afternoon started a general debate on the oral update of Michelle Bachelet, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Ms. Bachelet presented her oral update as well as her reports on Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Venezuela, Cyprus, Eritrea and on the COVID-19 pandemic in a previous meeting. A summary can be found here. At the beginning of the meeting, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Cyprus, Eritrea and Venezuela spoke as concerned countries. Full Text -> ReliefWeb

While recognising the nature of the crisis and tensions in the country, and the responsibilities of the State to maintain public order, the Mission found the Government, State agents, and groups working with them had committed egregious violations. It identified patterns of violations and crimes that were highly coordinated pursuant to State policies, and part of a widespread and systematic course of conduct, thus amounting to crimes against humanity. Full Text-> OHCHR

As further elaborated below, the Mission has reasonable grounds to believe that most of the violations and crimes documented in this report were committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack directed against a civilian population, with knowledge of the attack, pursuant to or in furtherance of a State policy. In relation to these crimes, the Mission has reasonable grounds to believe that crimes against humanity were committed in Venezuela in the period under review. Full Document -> OHCHR

The Venezuelan government has done little to clamp down on the violent, brutal behavior of criminal groups who control mining in a region largely inhabited by indigenous communities, according to a U.N. report submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Council  Wednesday.  By Lisa Schlein. Full Text- VOA

The independence of Venezuela’s justice system has been “considerably undermined”, fuelling impunity and human rights violations, the UN rights chief charged Tuesday in a report. The 15-page document by Michelle Bachelet, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, was commissioned in September by the UN Human Rights Council and is to be presented before the body on Wednesday. Full Text-> Yahoo!News