3. State Party Reports

Venezuela

II. DEFINITION OF THE CHILD

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54. Criminal responsibility is acquired at the age of majority. Before the age of 18, the person is deemed to be exempt from criminality responsibility (art. 1 of the Minors' Protection Act).

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IV. CIVIL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS

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H. The right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (art. 37 (a) of the Convention)

102. Torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment are specifically prohibited by the Constitution (art. 60).

103. The provisions of the Minors' Protection Act require all public and private bodies to prevent the abuse or ill-treatment of any minor (art. 5).

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VIII. SPECIAL PROTECTION MEASURES

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A. Protection of child and juvenile offenders (arts. 37 and 40 of the Convention)

183. Criminal justice for children and adolescents in conflict with the law is the responsibility of the juvenile courts.

184. Capital punishment and life imprisonment are not permitted under the Constitution. Custodial sentences may not exceed 30 years (arts. 58 and 60).

185. Children and juveniles cannot be considered criminals and therefore cannot be punished for breaking the law, but must be referred for rehabilitation procedures, measures and treatment (art. 1, para. 6, of the Minors' Protection Act).

186. The regulations governing children and juveniles who break the criminal law is one of the areas most in need of reform in order to bring Venezuela's domestic provisions into line with the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In the debate on the draft reform of the Minors' Protection Act, both governmental and non-governmental organizations have strongly emphasized the need for the amendment of the current regulations. The Minors' Protection Act defines as offenders "minors who take part in any act punishable under criminal law or police regulations" (art. 86) and does not establish a lower age limit for the imposition of penalties involving deprivation of liberty. In practice, juvenile courts tend not to hand down custodial sentences for acts defined as offences for children aged under 12, but prefer to use other measures in cases where children are accused of breaking criminal laws.

187. The Minors' Protection Act, which focuses solely on irregular situations, makes no distinction between the penalties that may be applied in the various circumstances the law recognizes. There is a general rule (art. 107), which is applicable to minors who have been abandoned, are at risk or have broken the law, and which establishes the following measures:

1. Placing of the minor in the care of his parents, custodians, guardians or responsible relatives

2. Supervision

3. Placement in a family

4. Attendance at a rehabilitation centre

5. Attendance at a treatment centre

188. In view of the fact that the aim of the process is to protect the juvenile and given that the judge has the prime responsibility of ensuring that the best interests of the child are upheld, the law is not fully able to guarantee due process in determining the facts of the irregular situation. The current discussion on the reform bill has indeed strongly emphasized guarantees of the right to defence and due process. In executing the measures ordered by the judge, every effort must be made to avoid the minors being removed from the place of residence of their relatives; to that end, the National Children's Institute will establish a diversified group of institutions throughout the country (art. 119 of the Minors' Protection Act).

189. In this respect, the National Children's Institute (INAM) provides a range of services for child and juvenile offenders. Its programmes are known under the umbrella title of Care for Minors in Need of Treatment and are based on the establishment of various kinds of rehabilitative institutions, as follows:

(a) Immediate Care Centres are closed establishments whose purpose is to carry out an initial evaluation of the child's situation, as provided for in article 103 of the Minors' Protection Act. At the same time, the child takes part in reeducation activities in the centre;

(b) Intensive care centres are also closed establishments, but they deal only with children and juveniles whose behaviour entails high personal and social risk, creating a need to remove them from their environment in order to offer them treatment commensurate with their problems. The reeducation process aims to make the children aware of their problems, to reinforce basic skills (reading, writing and arithmetic) and to offer a certain amount of work training. The length of stay in these centres is around nine months, after which the children and juveniles may return to take their place in their environment and the labour market;

(c) External consultation. This service seeks to evaluate the child or young person at risk or who is a potential offender, without removing him or her from the family environment;

(d) In addition to the above-mentioned programmes, INAM is responsible for guiding and supervising children and juveniles in the supervision regime.

Population covered by the programmes of care for children in need of treatment, 1990-1995

Source: National Children's Institute (INAM), Anuario Estadístico, various years.

190. In order to bring the Minors' Protection Act into line with the provisions of the Convention, the draft Protection of Children and Adolescents Organization Act stipulates that: "Any minors who are proved to have been involved in any act punishable under the criminal laws shall be deemed offenders. Children below the age of 12 shall be subject only to the comprehensive protection measures provided for in Book III of this Act" (art. 197).

191. The discussion of the draft Act sparked a public debate that led to the formulation of a number of measures that will make it easier to guarantee the right to defence and will permit a better application of due process in proceedings aimed at helping child offenders. The text of the draft Act explicitly includes a large part of article 40 of the Convention and the Beijing Rules.

Source: Initial report of States parties due in 1992: Venezuela, UN Document CRC/C/3/Add.54, paras. 54, 102-103, 183-191 (22 September 1997)