Venezuela Faces Global Condemnation Over Escalating Human Rights Abuses

Author: Aamnah Fatima Khan

July 6, 2025

HRRC commends the United Nations, the United Kingdom and international human rights groups for condemning Venezuela’s abuses. However, we urge the international community to move beyond statements and take immediate, concrete actions to ensure accountability and protect human rights.

Relatives of political prisoners light candles during a vigil calling for their freedom in Caracas, Venezuela on Sunday, December 1, 2024. [Image credit: © 2024 AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos]

The United Nations (UN) and human rights organisations have released serious assessments about a growing crackdown on civil liberties, which has put Venezuela under severe international scrutiny. Repression, torture, enforced disappearances, and arbitrary detentions have increased, especially in the period leading up to the July 2024 presidential election, which many observers and the opposition believe was a hoax.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk reported to the UN Human Rights Council on June 28, 2025, that more than 2,000 arrests, including 17 foreign nationals, had been initiated for political reasons in the previous year. Numerous detainees were tortured, denied access to legal counsel, and kept in inhumane conditions. Following the election, at least 28 people were taken by force. Prominent cases, like the one involving human rights activist Rocío San Miguel, have sparked harsh international criticism.

Without convincing evidence, the Venezuelan government has accused foreign people, opposition supporters, and humanitarian workers of terrorism and conspiracy under ambiguous anti-terrorism legislation. Meanwhile, court proceedings are not meeting international norms, and the legal system has turned into an instrument of repression.

At the UN sessions on June 28, 2025, the United Kingdom called for accountability and denounced Venezuela's human rights abuses, pointing to more than 900 arbitrary detentions. The UK reaffirmed the significance of the UN office's return to Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, and underlined the disproportionate impact of repression on women and girls. On July 1, 2025, Venezuela's National Assembly proclaimed Türk persona non grata (an unwelcome person) in response to his remarks, charging him with bias and meddling in domestic matters. The declaration, while symbolic, may pave the way for further severe actions against UN agencies.

Civil society in Venezuela has been stifled by a restrictive NGO law passed in November 2024, forcing many organizations to cease operations. Venezuela's economy is still in disaster. Over five million people are hungry, healthcare has collapsed, and the minimum wage is still less than $1 US dollars. Additionally, Türk has urged the United States to stop deporting Venezuelans to these dangerous conditions.

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Glossary

• Ambiguous – not clear; can have more than one meaning

• Arbitrary – based on personal choice or random decision, not on fair reason

• Arbitrary detentions – unfair or random arrests without a proper legal reason

• Bias – a tendency to believe that some people, ideas, etc., are better than others that usually results in treating some people unfairly

• Cease – to stop doing something

• Commend – to praise or say something is good

• Concrete actions – real, clear steps or efforts taken to do something

• Condemn – to strongly say something is wrong or bad

• Conspiracy – a secret plan by a group to do something wrong or illegal

• Declaration – an official or formal statement

• Deport – to force someone to leave a country

• Detainee – a person who is kept in custody or prison

• Enforced disappearance – an arrest or imprisonment of someone usually by the state or by persons or groups of persons acting with the authorization or support of the State

• Hoax – a trick or lie meant to fool people

• Legal counsel – a lawyer who gives advice and helps in legal matters

• Meddling – getting involved in something that is not your business

• Remarks – written or spoken comment.

• Repression – the use of force or violence to control a group of people

• Scrutiny – close and careful examination or checking

• Symbolic – something that represents an idea but has little real effect

• Urge – to strongly ask or push someone to do something

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Sources

1. https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2025/07/01/venezuela-human-rights-un-report/2191751386769/ 

2. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/venezuela/article309544855.html 

3. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/immigration/article306478321.html 

4. https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/un-human-rights-council-59-uk-statement-on-the-situation-of-human-rights-in-the-bolivarian-republic-of-venezuela 

5. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/1/venezuelan-lawmakers-declare-un-human-rights-chief-persona-non-grata 

6. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/persona%2520non%2520grata&ved=2ahUKEwiPu6a0waOOAxUFSuUKHQTDCk0QFnoECDkQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3M7rEoKhZcaMSrwbDiu6Bu