Overview

The ongoing human rights crisis was compounded by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The policy of repression implemented by the government of Nicolás Maduro continued, including further reports of extrajudicial executions, excessive use of force, arbitrary detentions and torture and other ill-treatment against those perceived as critical of the government. Human rights defenders, journalists and activists were subjected to intimidation, harassment, attacks and detention. The humanitarian emergency worsened and violations of economic, social, cultural and environmental rights persisted, with an increasingly weakened healthcare system and shortages of water, fuel, food and electricity. Impunity for human rights violations remained the norm. The UN Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) on Venezuela documented and condemned systemic impunity, and the ICC Office of the Prosecutor found there were grounds to believe that crimes against humanity had been committed in Venezuela and announced the opening of a formal investigation.