Ombudsman’s Office Opens First School of Human Rights in Venezuela

During the opening ceremony, the Ombudsman Gabriela del Mar Ramírez said the initiative is aimed at strengthening the academic training of the general public through an initial offering of free professional courses.

Some the people who attended the ceremony include Ambassador Jorge Valero, Permanent Representative of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the United Nations; Ambassador of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Iran David Velasquez; Judge Juan Rafael Perdomo; and Minister of People’s Power for Higher Education Edgar Ramirez, among others.

In this regard, Ramirez explained that the School of Human Rights is attached to the Fundación Juan Vives Suri, an institution created by the Office of the Ombudsman in June 2008 to promote, encourage and promote education, and training in Human Rights and academic research.

The Ombudsman further noted that this new area of academic training in the field of Human Rights will break with the elitist view that some specialists in the field have been promoting inside and outside the country. “Now we’re talking about human rights for all, not about privilege,” he added.

Gabriela del Mar Ramírez reported that Education Minister Ramírez has committed with them to establish a graduate level in this school, in order to write human rights discourse from a Latin American perspective. She noted that Ambassador Valero will be part of the teaching staff of this school along with the ombudsmen of Ecuador, El Salvador, Bolivia and Nicaragua, who will have the task of explaining the Latin American experiences in the protection of human rights.

Edgardo Ramirez said that the School of Human Rights, whose curriculum has been jointly designed with the Ministry of People’s Power for Higher Education, opens with a Certificate Course on Human Rights and Advocacy Defense. The course has a duration of 9 months and twenty-five graduates enrolled, graduates of the Legal Studies program of the Bolivarian University of Venezuela.

Next year, three new certificate courses will be opened: Human Rights, Human Rights of Children and Adolescents, and Human Rights of Women.

The holder of the office of human rights in the country added that the higher level academic offerings of the school will be expanded gradually, including educational activities involving ombudsmen in other countries in the Americas.

For more information on graduate courses, the School of Human Rights can be reached at 0212 5053162 or [email protected]

Translation by MinCI