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Judgment), the State informed that “[the] National University Institute for Penitentiary
Studies, [which is] a higher studies center to train the professionals and specialists required
by the Venezuelan Penitentiary and Criminologist System[,] [would become] the guiding
entity for educational policies in penitentiary matters.” According to the State, “[t]he
syllabus design includes training in the various areas necessary to control prisons, inter alia,
deontology and an institutional system, psychology applied to security, penitentiary
legislation, human rights, toxicology, penitentiary security, disturbance control, introduction
to criminalistics, penitentiary sociology, personal defense, among others.” Likewise, the
Attorney’s Office would have developed, through that Institute, “training and academic
updating policies both for the Institution’s officials and for officials of other agencies related
to justice administration.” On the other hand, the Attorney’s Office informed that the
“Ombudsman would have[,] through the General Directorate for the Promotion and
Dissemination of Human Rights, carried out several promotion, dissemination and training
activities regarding human rights for security agents continuously at national level.”
45.
That the representatives pointed out that they knew about the “initiatives taken by
the Ombudsman regarding training of State armed forces regarding human rights, through
specialized courses and workshops in 2008.” However, the representatives indicated that
they “had not found any public official information about specialized training courses for
prison agents in Venezuela.” Hence, they declared it was “unfortunate that there was
evidence of the possible implication of State prison agents in various situations that
occurred in penitentiary centers leading to dead inmates after […] alleged confrontations
with the armed forces. Thus, for the representatives “no substantial changes have occurred
to improve the academic and social conditions of prison agents” and there is a lack of a
“comprehensive plan” towards compliance with this obligation.” To that end, they
“consider[ed] that the State must, within three (3) months, submit accurate and detailed
information about the subjects taught in the penitentiary training programs and the policy
for admission and permanence of penitentiary personnel, as well as the specific results and
progress made (regarding the number of new trained officials, type of training received,
their recruitment process, remuneration and positions at present in the Venezuelan
prisons)[,] according to the initiatives to adapt penitentiary centers to international
standards in this matter.”
46.
That the Commission pointed out that the information provided by the State about
training security agents “lacks details about any progress made after the date the
[J]udgment of the Inter-American Court was issued.” Therefore, the Commission indicated
that “it would be timely to request the State to provide information about the beneficiaries
of the above programs and, if applicable, the reasons why the penitentiary personnel would
not have been included.”
47.
That according to paragraphs 147 to 149 of the Judgment, this obligation includes
the following two training issues: 1) training of the members of the security agencies to
ensure the effective right to life and avoid the disproportionate use of force, and 2) the
design and implementation of a training program on human rights and international
standards regarding inmates, addressed to police and prison agents.
48.
That it is essential that human rights are known by all to secure their respect and
guarantee in a democratic society. To that extent, the authorities in charge of the
individuals held in custody on behalf of the State, as well as the members of the police and
the armed forces, and the public authorities in general, shall be duly trained in human rights
and, if applicable, the international standards regarding individuals held in custody, showing
the good results of their training with their daily behavior in performing their tasks and,
hence, responding adequately to the requirements of their tasks regarding those individuals.