PROVEA

Description

PROVEA, the Venezuelan Education-Action Program on Human Rights, is an independent, non-governmental human rights organization in Venezuela.

It was founded on 15 October 1988, to act as an independent watchdog of the Venezuelan people’s economic, social and cultural rights. It is based in Caracas. Its mission is to promote and defend human rights, with particular attention to economic, social and cultural rights alongside civil and political rights.

PROVEA takes on human rights cases before national bodies, documents abuses such as extrajudicial killings and the situation of political prisoners, and publishes annual reports, research studies, bulletins and special investigations. It runs education and training programs for human rights activists across the country, and produces radio programs on human rights. It also follows the forced migration of Venezuelans and reports on their situation in countries across the region.

It has supported imprisoned human rights defenders and spoken out as the human rights situation in Venezuela has deteriorated. It has been recognized internationally, including with the John Humphrey Freedom Award in 2010, and is regarded as one of the most prominent human rights organizations in Venezuela.