Rape and Domestic Violence: The law criminalizes rape of men or women, including spousal rape. Penalties for rape range from five to 15 years’ imprisonment, and the government generally enforced the law.

The law criminalizes both physical and psychological domestic violence and protects the privacy and safety of the victim making the charge of rape or domestic violence.

Family courts handle cases of domestic violence and penalize offenders with monetary fines and other sanctions, such as eviction of the offender from the residence shared with the survivor, restraining orders, confiscation of firearms, and court-ordered counseling. Cases of habitual psychological abuse and physical abuse are prosecuted in the criminal justice system. Penalties are based on the gravity of injuries and range from 61 days’ to 15 years’ imprisonment. Murder in the context of domestic violence is defined as femicide in the criminal code, and penalties range from 15 years to life in prison. The government generally enforced the laws against domestic violence effectively.

The Ministry of Women and Gender Equality had a victims’ assistance and protection program that operated psychological, legal, and social assistance centers and shelters throughout the country and maintained an emergency hotline.

Violence against women and girls, including rape and femicide, was a significant problem. Police and prosecutor reports of domestic violence were lower than in previous years, presumably due to difficulties for victims presented by public health measures restricting movement to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Calls to the Ministry of Women and Gender Equality’s gender violence hotline increased 80 percent between March and April. Reports of rape reached a 10-year high in 2019.

On August 6, the body of a 16-year-old girl who had been missing for one week was found buried under the house of her mother’s partner in the Valparaiso region. She had been raped and killed. On August 10, the alleged perpetrator was arrested and held in pretrial detention. He had prior convictions for killing a previous partner and her nine-year-old son in 2005 and was freed on parole in 2016. On September 23, the girl’s mother was arrested for her alleged participation in the killing. An investigation remained open at year’s end. On August 22, Carabinera Norma Vasquez was found dead in the trunk of a car in Linares. Her boyfriend, former Carabineros second lieutenant Gary Valenzuela Ramos, was arrested and placed in pretrial detention. Carabineros dismissed Valenzuela Ramos and opened an internal investigation on July 30, after Vasquez filed a sexual harassment charge against him. An investigation remained open at year’s end.

Sexual Harassment: Workplace sexual harassment is not a criminal offense, with penalties outlined exclusively in the labor code. By law sexual harassment in the workplace is cause for immediate dismissal from employment. The law requires employers to define internal procedures, or a company policy, for investigating sexual harassment, and employers may face fines and additional financial compensation to victims if it is shown the company policy on sexual harassment was not followed. The law provides protection to those affected by sexual harassment by employers and coworkers. The law provides severance pay to individuals who resign due to sexual harassment if they have completed at least one year with the employer.

Sexual harassment in public spaces is a crime. The law defines any verbal or gesture of a sexual nature designed to intimidate or humiliate another person as harassment, and it includes audiovisual recordings of an individual’s genital area or private parts without consent. Depending on the severity of the crime, penalties range from 61 days’ to five years’ imprisonment and monetary fines.

Reproductive Rights: Couples and individuals have the right to decide the number, spacing, and timing of their children. Individuals had the information to do so, free from discrimination, coercion, and violence.

The national health service provided contraception and reproductive health services, but access to sexual and reproductive health services and information was limited in remote regions, which especially affected poor women. Emergency contraception was available at pharmacies without a prescription. During the year defective or improperly packaged birth control pills distributed by public health clinics allegedly caused at least 170 unwanted pregnancies, according to NGOs and media reports.

The law permits abortion only in cases of rape, severe danger to the health of the mother, or a nonviable pregnancy. Cultural and societal objections to abortion and contraception remained widespread, and NGOs reported that many women who met the legal conditions necessary to terminate their pregnancies nonetheless faced obstacles in doing so.

The National Service for Women and Gender Equality provided access to medical, legal, and psychological services for victims of sexual violence. It operated three specialized centers for victims of sexual violence in Santiago, Valparaiso, and Concepcion as well as 110 centers nationwide for victims of gender-based violence and a toll-free victims’ hotline. The National Service for Minors provided assistance and shelters for victims under the age of 18.

Coercion in Population Control: There were no reports of coerced abortion or involuntary sterilization on the part of government authorities.

Discrimination: Although women possess most of the same legal rights as men, the government did not enforce the law effectively, and discrimination in employment, pay, ownership and management of businesses, and education persisted. Certain laws defining the marital relationship enable discrimination. The most common marital arrangement is “conjugal society,” which provides that a husband has the right to administer joint property, including his wife’s property, without consultation or written permission from his spouse, but a wife must demonstrate that her husband has granted his permission before she is permitted to make financial arrangements. Legislation remained pending years after a 2007 agreement with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to modify the conjugal society law to give women and men equal rights and responsibilities in marriage. The commercial code provides that, unless a woman is married under the separate-estate regime or a joint-estate regime, she may not enter into a commercial partnership agreement without permission from her husband, while a man may enter into such an agreement without permission from his wife.

Despite a law providing for equal pay for equal work, women are 37 percent less likely than men to receive an equal wage for similar work, according to an organization specializing in market and consumer data. The Ministry of Women and Gender Equality is in charge of protecting women’s legal rights and is specifically tasked with combatting discrimination against women.

Birth Registration: Citizenship is derived by birth within the country’s territory and from one’s parents or grandparents. There were no reports that birth registration was denied on a discriminatory basis.

Child Abuse: There are laws against child abuse, but it remained a persistent problem. The law renders persons convicted of child sexual abuse permanently ineligible for any position, job, career, or profession in educational settings requiring direct and habitual contact with children younger than age 18. The law also includes a public registry of these sex offenders.

In April the government ordered the closure of the National Service for Minors (SENAME) shelter Residencia el Nido in the municipality of Hualpen. The Talcahuano prosecutor’s office opened an investigation into the former shelter director, who allegedly authorized adults to enter the residence and sexually abuse the children in exchange for money. The Talcahuano prosecutor’s office opened an investigation into other staff members at the shelter to determine their possible involvement. The National Prosecutor’s Office, Justice and Human Rights representative in the Bio-Bio Region, and National Defender for Children’s Rights initiated legal actions against the alleged perpetrators and asked the local court to relocate 23 children from the shelter.

Child, Early, and Forced Marriage: The legal minimum age of marriage is 18 (16 with parental consent).

Sexual Exploitation of Children: The law prohibits all forms of human trafficking, prescribing penalties ranging from five years and one day to 15 years in prison, plus fines, for trafficking offenses. Nevertheless, child sex-trafficking cases were often prosecuted under a different law, Article 367 of the penal code, which provides lesser penalties. Due to sentencing guidelines for first-time offenders that provide automatic parole for any sentence of less than five years’ confinement, many convicted traffickers received weak and inadequate sentences, which hampered efforts to deter and hold traffickers accountable.

Sexual relations with minors between the ages of 14 and 18 may be considered statutory rape depending on the circumstances; sex with a child younger than age 14 is considered rape, regardless of consent or the victim’s gender. Penalties for statutory rape range from five to 20 years in prison. Child pornography is a crime. Penalties for producing child pornography range from 541 days to five years in prison.

Commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents was a problem, and children were victims of sex trafficking with and without third-party involvement. Children were also used in the production of pornography.

Institutionalized Children: SENAME continued implementing a restructuring, begun after investigations following the death of an 11-year-old child in SENAME custody in 2017 revealed systemic problems of abuse and neglect in SENAME shelters. The restructuring included closing traditional shelters for vulnerable children and replacing them with family-style residences. The first family-style residences opened in 2019 in Valparaiso and Santiago. During the year SENAME opened additional residences in Santiago, Arica, and Biobio.

International Child Abductions: The country is a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. See the Department of State’s Annual Report on International Parental Child Abduction at https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/International-Parental-Child-Abduction/for-providers/legal-reports-and-data/reported-cases.html.

The Jewish community numbers approximately 18,000 persons. Jewish community leaders reported concern over the tone of social media postings they perceived as threatening. The commentary that leaders found offensive primarily referenced frustration with Israeli government policies and did not specifically mention either Jewish individuals or Chilean Jews.

In July the mayor of the city of Recoleta made anti-Semitic statements in a radio interview, alleging a “Zionist conspiracy” to control the media. Central government officials widely condemned the comments. In October during a march in Santiago by groups opposed to the drafting of a new constitution, photographs published in the media showed some groups using anti-Semitic symbols, slogans, and salutes.

See the Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report at https://www.state.gov/trafficking-in-persons-report/.

The law prohibits discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental disabilities, and the government generally enforced these provisions. Persons with disabilities suffered forms of de facto discrimination. The law provides for universal and equal access to buildings, information, and communications. Most public buildings did not comply with legal accessibility mandates. The public transportation system, particularly outside Santiago, did not adequately provide accessibility for persons with disabilities. In recent years, however, the Metropolitan Mobility Network, the main system of public transportation within Santiago, instituted changes to improve compliance with the law, including new ramp systems and elevators at certain metro stations, as well as improved access to some buses. Nevertheless, many metro stations and most buses remained inaccessible to persons with physical disabilities.

In September Marcelo Delgado, a computer technician with disabilities, filed a complaint alleging discrimination and aggression at his former place of employment. According to Delgado, he was attacked and bullied by coworkers and faced discriminatory repercussions from the company’s human resources department after reporting the incident, leading to his firing. As of October the Labor Directorate continued to investigate the complaint.

In April a public hospital in the Puente Alto municipality of Santiago refused to release a baby to its biological father due to the father’s disability. Despite the fact the father worked and lived independently, the hospital claimed he was incapable of caring for the child and petitioned a family court to send the child to foster care. The father sued, with support of a disability rights NGO, and in November obtained custody of his child.

Equal treatment and nondiscrimination are explicitly protected in the constitution, and the labor code specifically prohibits discrimination. There were reports of discrimination against racial minorities and immigrants in the public-health and education systems. The government implemented training programs for public officials on assisting immigrants, incorporated interpreters into offices, and provided information in languages other than Spanish, specifically Haitian Creole. Several municipal governments implemented plans for assistance to migrants in public services.

Although the constitution does not specifically protect indigenous groups, indigenous peoples have the right to participate in decisions affecting their lands, cultures, and traditions, including the exploitation of energy, minerals, timber, or other natural resources on indigenous lands. Indigenous peoples, however, encountered serious obstacles to exercising these civil and political rights, including the right to use natural resources in their territories, to political participation, and to nondiscrimination and equal access to justice. While indigenous lands were demarcated, some indigenous Mapuche and Rapa Nui communities demanded restitution of privately and publicly owned traditional lands.

The law recognizes nine indigenous groups in the country and creates an administrative structure to provide specialized programs and services to promote economic, social, and cultural development of these peoples.

Indigenous persons experienced societal discrimination, including in employment; there were reports of incidents in which they were attacked and harassed. There were numerous reports of police abuse against Mapuche individuals and communities, including against children. The INDH brought petitions to protect the constitutional rights of Mapuche individuals, including children and adolescents, in cases of excessive use of force by security forces. On June 10, the INDH filed a writ of constitutional protection of the rights of the Mapuche community We Newen in Collipulli, Araucania Region, after receiving allegations from 16 community members, including seven children, regarding excessive use of force during police raids, searches without a warrant, and indiscriminate use of antiriot weapons, including tear gas and water cannons, during a 10-day period in May.

On August 18, the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights announced it had reached an agreement with imprisoned Mapuche religious leader Celestino Cordova to end a 107-day hunger strike. Cordova, who was serving an 18-year sentence for his role in a 2013 double murder, demanded he be released to house arrest for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. On August 13, the Supreme Court denied that request. Under the terms of the agreement, the government allowed Cordova a one-day visit to his rehue (traditional altar). The government agreed to create dedicated areas for traditional Mapuche medicinal and religious ceremonies in prisons with a significant number of indigenous prisoners. After further negotiations, groups of imprisoned Mapuches in three other prisons (totaling 26 individuals) ended their hunger strikes later in August.

The trial for the 2018 Carabineros killing of Camilo Catrillanca, a Mapuche community leader in Temucuicui in the southern Araucania Region, was postponed until October due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Seven Carabineros and one civilian employee were charged with homicide, attempted homicide, obstruction of justice, falsification of and tampering with evidence, and malfeasance.

Acts of Violence, Criminalization, and Other Abuses Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

Violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) individuals continued. On August 24, the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation (MOVILH), a leading gay rights NGO, reported a physical attack on a gay couple in Valparaiso by a neighbor. The couple alleged the neighbor had harassed and threatened them in the past, and they had not made a complaint due to fear of retribution. MOVILH filed a legal complaint, and as of October the case was under investigation.

In November 2019 MOVILH and the INDH filed legal actions protesting the treatment of Alberto Faundez, whom police arrested in October 2019 on suspicion of theft. Upon discovering that he was gay, police allegedly physically assaulted him in the detention center, forced him to strip naked in front of other prisoners, and subjected him to homophobic insults. An investigation was pending at year’s end.

In March, MOVILH reported it tracked 1,103 reports of violence or discrimination due to sexual orientation or gender identity during 2019, the highest number in the history of their annual report and a 58 percent increase from 2018. The cases included five deaths and 32 reports of police abuse, the majority of which occurred in the context of the 2019 social unrest. The most common discriminatory acts reported to MOVILH were verbal abuse and discrimination in public services, such as police operations, public education, and health services. In August, MOVILH published a survey showing a majority of LGBTI parents experienced discrimination in public services, with the civil registry identified as the most frequent institution where discrimination occurred, followed by social services agencies, schools, and medical care.

Antidiscrimination laws exist and prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in housing, employment, and access to government services. The government generally enforced these laws effectively. A law that went into effect in December 2019 grants transgender citizens age 14 and older the right to have gender markers on government-issued identity cards and university diplomas changed to reflect their gender identity. On June 8, family courts recognized the filiation of a two-year-old boy with his nonbiological lesbian mother and ordered the civil registry to update the child’s birth certificate accordingly. The couple had a civil union agreement and underwent the assisted fertilization procedure together. The civil registry previously had never issued a birth certificate recognizing a child’s two mothers. On November 13, the government agreed to open an interagency unit to address violence against LGBTI persons, improve victims’ assistance, train public servants and police, and create antidiscrimination campaigns.

Law enforcement authorities appeared reluctant to use the full recourse of a 2012 antidiscrimination law, including charging assailants of LGBTI victims with a hate crime, which would elevate criminal penalties as permitted under the law.

Rape and Domestic Violence: The law criminalizes rape of men or women, including spousal rape, making it punishable if convicted by a prison term of eight to 14 years. A man may legally avoid punishment by marrying (before he is sentenced) the person he raped. The law allows authorities to consider alternative forms of punishment, including work release, for those convicted of various crimes, including rape, if they have completed three-quarters of their sentence.

The law criminalizes physical, sexual, and psychological violence in the home or community and at work, with increased penalties for intimate partner violence. The law punishes perpetrators of domestic violence with penalties for conviction ranging from six to 27 months in prison. The law requires police to report domestic violence to judicial authorities and obligates hospital personnel to notify authorities when admitting patients who are victims of domestic abuse. Police generally were reluctant to intervene to prevent domestic violence and were not properly trained to handle such cases. The law also establishes women’s bureaus at local police headquarters and tribunals specializing in gender-based violence, and two-thirds of states had specialized courts. The Public Ministry’s Women’s Defense Department employed a team of lawyers, psychiatrists, and other experts who dealt exclusively with cases of femicide, gender-related violence, and other crimes against women.

The illegitimate Maduro regime did not publish statistics on gender-based violence. The OHCHR reported a lack of due diligence in investigations of gender-based violence cases. According to NGOs, government efforts to protect victims of gender-based violence were ineffective or nonexistent. Enforcement of laws and access to justice were limited, as victims of gender-based violence reported a lack of progress and inability to follow up on cases after filing reports with authorities.

Many advocates observed there was a lack of public awareness among women regarding resources and support available to prevent and combat domestic violence. There were five shelters for victims of gender-based violence, most of which struggled to operate effectively due to a lack of financial resources. NGOs provided the majority of domestic abuse support services.

NGOs and media reported an increase of domestic abuse and gender-based violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. The NGO Woman Your Voice Has Power reported a 52 percent increase in domestic violence during the year. Between January and October, the NGO Utopix documented 217 femicides and an atmosphere of impunity for domestic abusers. On August 15, Mariana Lilibeth Gonzalez was assaulted in her home and shot 30 times. No suspects were arrested in connection with her death.

Sexual Harassment: Sexual harassment is illegal and punishable by fines and a prison sentence of one to three years. Although allegedly common in the workplace, sexual harassment cases were rarely reported.

Reproductive Rights: Couples and individuals do not always have the right to decide the number, spacing, and timing of their children or have access to the information and means to do so, free from discrimination, coercion, or violence. The Ministry of Health of the illegitimate Maduro regime restricted access to sexual and reproductive health services for survivors of sexual violence, and did it not allow the full range of services.

Abortion is illegal in the country unless necessary to save the mother’s life. Activists reported a cumbersome process, requiring a diagnosis of a life-threatening condition and review by the hospital board, that prevented women from receiving legal abortions. Illegally terminating a pregnancy is punishable by prison sentences of six months to two years for the woman and one to three years for persons performing the procedure. On January 11, authorities released from prison to house arrest professor and women’s rights activist Vannesa Rosales after she assisted a 13-year-old rape victim in ending a pregnancy. Rosales was charged with facilitating an abortion and conspiracy to commit a crime.

The illegitimate Maduro regime’s economic mismanagement and neglect of the country’s health-care infrastructure severely restricted access to contraception and to skilled health attendance during pregnancy and childbirth. Media reported that methods of contraception were scarce and, where available, cost 25 times the monthly minimum wage. According to NGOs, the COVID-19 pandemic further reduced access to contraception and the ability to consult doctors or access pharmacies.

Hospitals lacked qualified health care professionals, medicine, and basic necessities, such as water, electricity, and cleaning supplies. The country’s health care crisis, including the unavailability of maternal health services, was compounded by the pandemic as hospitals prioritized COVID-19 cases over other health services. While the illegitimate Maduro regime statistics on maternal death rates have not been published since 2016, according to the Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Venezuela, the maternal death rate in 2019 was 112 deaths per 100,000 live births, with postpartum hemorrhages, sepsis, and pregnancy-induced hypertension cited as the leading causes of maternal mortality. Doctors stated that these were “predictable and treatable” conditions but were often fatal due to hospitals’ lack of adequate resources and medicine.

According to the UN Population Fund, the adolescent birth rate in 2019 was 95 births for every 1,000 adolescents aged 15 to 19.

Coercion in Population Control: There were no reports of coerced abortion or involuntary sterilization on the part of government authorities.

Discrimination: Women enjoy the same legal status and rights as men under the constitution. Women and men are legally equal in marriage, and the law provides for gender equality in exercising the right to work. The law specifies that employers must not discriminate against women with regard to pay or working conditions. According to the Ministry of Labor and the Confederation of Workers, regulations protecting women’s labor rights were enforced in the formal sector, although according to the World Economic Forum, women earned 36 percent less on average than men doing comparable jobs.

Birth Registration: Citizenship is derived by birth within the country’s territory. According to UNICEF, 81 percent of children younger than five were registered at birth, based on 2011 statistics provided by the government. The children’s rights NGO Cecodap reported that families struggled to register births due to quarantine measures surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Child Abuse: According to UNICEF and NGOs working with children and women, child abuse, including incest, occurred but were rarely reported. The illegitimate regime made efforts to detain and prosecute some perpetrators of child abuse. Although the judicial system acted to remove children from abusive households, the press reported public facilities for such children were inadequate. According to NGOs, in many cases children were returned to their homes without proper reintegration measures or follow-up. A study by the NGO Save the Children found a 30 percent increase in child abuse in homes under quarantine.

Child, Early, and Forced Marriage: The legal minimum age for marriage is 18 for women and men, but with parental consent the minimum age is 16.

Sexual Exploitation of Children: By law conviction of having sexual relations with a minor younger than 13, with an “especially vulnerable” person, or with a minor younger than 16 when the perpetrator is a relative or guardian are punishable with a mandatory sentence of 15 to 20 years’ imprisonment. The law prohibits the forced prostitution and corruption of minors. Penalties range from 15 to 20 years’ imprisonment in cases of forced labor and some forms of sex trafficking of women and girls. The law requires a demonstration of force, fraud, or coercion to constitute child sex trafficking. The law prohibits the production and sale of child pornography and establishes penalties of 16 to 20 years’ imprisonment.

Displaced Children: Children’s rights advocates and media reported an increase in the number of abandoned children living on the street. Cecodap estimated that as many as one million minors had been left behind with family members as their parents fled the country’s economic crisis, many of whom also struggled with the country’s economic downturn. These children resided in limbo, since their parents who left were unable legally to transfer guardianship to a third party.

State-run facilities, already filled to capacity, were unable to support the influx of children in need. Private institutions denounced the illegitimate regime’s refusal to provide subsidized food benefits to support the country’s population. NGOs noted young girls made up close to one-half of the children living on the streets. This significant shift posed particular challenges for shelters, which historically housed predominantly male populations. With institutions filled to capacity, hundreds of children accused of infractions, such as curfew violations, were confined in inadequate juvenile detention centers.

International Child Abductions: The country is a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. See the Department of State’s Annual Report on International Parental Child Abduction at https://www.travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/International-Parental-Child-Abduction/for-providers/legal-reports-and-data/reported-cases.html.

The Confederation of Israelite Associations in Venezuela estimated there were 9,000 Jews in the country.

Jewish community leaders expressed concern regarding anti-Semitic statements made by high-level regime-aligned officials and anti-Semitic pieces in proregime media outlets. They stated regime-owned or -associated media and supporters of the illegitimate regime promoted Zionist conspiracy theories and denied or trivialized the Holocaust.

The community leaders noted many other anti-Semitic incidents occurred during the year. There were reports of societal abuses or discrimination based on religious affiliation, belief, or practice, including anti-Semitism.

See the Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report at https://www.state.gov/trafficking-in-persons-report/.

The law prohibits discrimination against persons with physical and mental disabilities, but the illegitimate regime did not implement the law, inform the public of it, or combat societal prejudice against persons with disabilities. The law requires that all newly constructed or renovated public parks and buildings provide access, but persons with disabilities had minimal access to public transportation, and ramps were almost nonexistent. Many persons with disabilities expressed concerns that public transportation workers often were unwilling to transport them and forced them to find taxis, which were often unaffordable and frequently not equipped to support patrons with disabilities. NGOs reported hospitals lacked infrastructure to accommodate persons with mobility problems and staff to communicate with deaf persons. Parents of children with disabilities also complained they were forced to wait in long lines for services rather than receiving preference as is afforded by law. Online resources and access to information were generally available to persons with disabilities, although access to closed-captioned or audio-described online videos for persons with sight and hearing disabilities was limited. Separately, leading advocates for persons with hearing disabilities lamented difficult access to public services due to a lack of interpreters in public courts, health-care facilities, and legal services, as well as a lack of other public accommodations.

The National Commission for Persons with Disabilities, an independent agency affiliated with the Ministry for Participation and Social Development, advocated for the rights of persons with disabilities and provided medical, legal, occupational, and cultural programs. According to the commission, fewer than 20 percent of persons with disabilities who registered with regime health programs were fully employed.

Children with disabilities attended specialized schools and integrated classes with their peers without disabilities. Media reported that schools for children with disabilities suffered from underfunding, decaying infrastructure, and little consideration for the specific needs of individual disabilities. Parents of children with disabilities reported significant difficulties in school enrollment, which prevented their children from receiving formal education. On March 16, the illegitimate Maduro regime closed the country’s schools through the calendar year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. NGOs reported that in the shift to online classes, children with disabilities had limited access to educational materials and the Ministry of Education did not adapt curricula for children with disabilities. A June study by the NGO Deaf Confederation of Venezuela found that nearly 90 percent of children with disabilities decreased their educational activities during the quarantine.

The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race. The law prohibits all forms of racial discrimination and provides for a maximum of three years’ imprisonment for acts of racial discrimination. As mandated by law, signage existed outside commercial and recreational establishments announcing the prohibition against acts of racial discrimination. Beyond signage the illegitimate regime did little to enforce laws against discrimination or prosecute cases of discrimination.

The law prohibits discrimination based on ethnic origin. The constitution provides for three seats in the AN for deputies of indigenous origin to “protect indigenous communities and their progressive incorporation into the life of the nation,” but some indigenous communities continued without representation in the national legislature due to the TSJ’s annulment of the 2015 election of Amazonas State’s indigenous representatives.

NGOs and the press reported local political authorities seldom took account of indigenous interests when making decisions affecting indigenous lands, cultures, traditions, or allocation of natural resources. Indigenous groups continued to call for faster implementation of the demarcation process.

Indigenous groups and NGOs expressed concern regarding mining in the expanding “Arco Minero,” an area that extends between the states of Bolivar and Amazonas. Indigenous communities reported the illegitimate Maduro regime developed and expanded mining zones without consulting those native to the region, resulting in a rise in environmental degradation, water contamination, and malaria. Illegal armed groups, including the National Liberation Army and dissidents of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia had a considerable presence in the area, increasing the level of violence and insecurity in the communities. There was also an unprecedented influx of disease; drugs; human trafficking, including prostitution and forced labor; and other illegal activities in the mining areas, putting indigenous communities at risk.

Indigenous groups regularly reported violent conflicts with miners and cattle ranchers regarding land rights. There were reports of harassment, attacks, and forced evictions against indigenous persons living in areas included as part of illegitimate regime mining concessions. Indigenous reported a lack of consultation by the illegitimate Maduro regime on the social and environmental impact of mining activity in indigenous and protected areas.

Border disputes with Colombia affected indigenous groups living in border regions. There were many reported cases in which movements of indigenous groups were restricted, including from border closures in February.

NGOs stated that quarantine measures imposed by the illegitimate Maduro regime unduly impacted indigenous communities, preventing transit to and through territories and making it impossible for indigenous persons to obtain food, water, and access to medical care. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that 325 persons, 82 of whom were Wayuu, were forcibly displaced between January and August by armed groups.

Media reported that in Zulia on April 12, GNB members used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse a group of indigenous Wayuu, primarily older women and children, who were protesting a lack of food and water. Media reported that a Wayuu teacher was injured when she was shot in the face during the confrontation.

On July 24, the CNE abolished the system of direct, confidential voting of indigenous representatives to the AN. In August the CNE reversed course again to allow secret voting but opted to maintain the introduction of “community assemblies,” which would elect an unspecified number of spokespersons, who in turn would elect AN representatives. The AN and indigenous activists criticized the regulations as unconstitutional and an infringement of indigenous autonomy and the right to self-determination.

Acts of Violence, Criminalization, and Other Abuses Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

Local police and private security forces allegedly prevented lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) persons from entering malls, public parks, and recreational areas. NGOs reported the illegitimate Maduro regime systematically denied legal recognition to transgender and intersex persons by preventing them from obtaining identity documents required for accessing education, employment, housing, and health care. This vulnerability often led transgender and intersex persons to become victims of human trafficking or prostitution.

NGOs reported incidents of bias-motivated violence against LGBTI persons. Reported incidents were most prevalent against transgender individuals. Leading advocates noted that law enforcement authorities often did not properly investigate to determine whether crimes were bias motivated.

The constitution provides for equality before the law of all persons and prohibits discrimination based on “sex or social condition,” but it does not explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. According to a TSJ ruling, no individual may be subjected to discrimination because of sexual orientation, but the ruling was rarely enforced.

HIV and AIDS Social Stigma

The law provides for the equal rights of persons with HIV or AIDS and their families. Nevertheless, leading advocates alleged discrimination against such persons. PROVEA reported that hospitals discriminated against persons with HIV. On September 7, FAES officers raided the headquarters of Solidarity Action, an NGO that advocates for the rights of those with HIV and AIDS, seizing medication and detaining eight persons.