Venezuela

In coordination with health-care workers and the authorities, we support the work of a number of health-care facilities by providing training for the people who work in them. We also help to implement emergency department triage systems to ensure that patients with the most critical needs are treated quickly and effectively and resources are used efficiently.

We provide support to maintain infrastructure at hospitals, health centres, schools, morgues, community centres and prisons and to restore basic services, such as the water and electricity supply, to reduce the difficulties faced by people in accessing such services in areas affected by violence.

In Venezuela, there are people from different age and population groups who face a multitude of difficulties and hardships, resulting in them not having an adequate diet or the means to earn a living to maintain their family. We provide training in different fields and individual support to help people secure a steady income, taking into account their individual needs and capacities.

Our work in the forensic field focuses on supporting the authorities and forensic personnel with training to enable them to ensure the proper and dignified management of the dead. We also provide assistance to ensure that the families of the dead and missing receive information about their loved ones, and we contribute to improving conditions at forensic facilities.

The ICRC visits people deprived of their liberty at various places of detention in Venezuela to check that they are being held in decent conditions and are treated with dignity. We support the authorities’ efforts to improve conditions of detention, including due process guarantees, health care, nutrition, and water and sanitation, in line with national and international standards.

People can suffer terribly when they lose contact with a family member and do not know where they are or if they are safe. The ICRC’s Restoring Family Links (RFL) programme helps people who have been separated from their family as a result of armed violence, a natural disaster or migration. We ensure that they receive timely assistance adapted to their specific circumstances so that they receive information about the whereabouts of their missing loved ones and are able to get back in touch with them. In close collaboration with the Venezuelan Red Cross, we provide connectivity and tracing services for the families of missing people, paying special attention to cases involving children and adolescents who have been separated from their family.

We maintain an ongoing dialogue with Venezuela’s armed forces and police to promote the protection of people’s lives and dignity, especially the most vulnerable. We also promote and spread knowledge of international humanitarian law (IHL), supporting the authorities in their efforts to incorporate the rules of IHL into domestic legislation, policies, doctrine and training.

The ICRC designs, plans and implements training for military personnel and police officers on the differentiated and progressive use of force in law enforcement operations, based on international standards and principles governing the use of force. To this end, we hold courses and workshops for the armed forces, the police and investigation services.

The ICRC works in different contexts to mitigate the direct and indirect consequences of armed violence which not only affect people’s physical well-being and safety, but also hinder their access to basic services, such as education and health care. Drawing on our many years of experience in conflict settings, we have developed a methodology that focuses on protection and individual and community self-care and involves different ways of working adapted to the specific dynamics and needs of the affected communities we help. We educate people about how to behave and protect themselves in situations of armed conflict and other violence that put their safety at risk.