Government security forces in Venezuela are carrying out unjustified killings without any apparent consequences as the rule of law in the country quickly vanishes, according to the United Nations.

A report from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said Venezuelan officers accused in some 500 questionable killings appeared to be evading any charges.

That is a sign that checks and balances have been chiselled away, leaving state authorities unaccountable, high commissioner Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said.

The UN report highlighted a case from early this year in which rebel police officer Oscar Perez and six in his group were shot to death as they tried to surrender.

Oscar Perez in a grainy close-up photograph with blood on his face
Photo: Oscar Perez posted a farewell message to supporters and his family on Instagram shortly before his death. (Instagram: oscarperezvg)

UN officials say they believe the group was killed on orders from top government officials, in violation of their basic rights.

“The rule of law is virtually absent in Venezuela,” Mr Zeid said in the report.

“The impunity must end.”

Venezuela rejected the UN report as a “grotesque media farce”, saying it omitted information officials in Caracas provided to investigators.

The findings were part of an international push against Venezuela led by officials in Washington, the ministry said.

“Venezuela reiterates its unrelenting commitment to human rights set out in Venezuela’s Constitution and international treaties,” officials in Caracas said in a statement.

However, UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres “believes that the numbers are truly shocking,” deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said later on Friday at UN headquarters.

He said Mr Guterres felt the report “attests to the need for political dialogue and a fully inclusive political solution” to the problems roiling Venezuela.
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Bron: ABCNews