UK Embassy replies to charges of wasted prison reform donations

www.vheadline.com Posted: Friday, March 14, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

The United Kingdom (UK)  Embassy in Caracas has replied to charges that the Venezuelan government has wasted funds for prison reform. An Embassy spokesman reports that the UK financed a numbers of workshops to train 37 prison directors during 1999-2002.

“The workshops concluded successfully and had the full support of the Venezuelan Interior & Justice (MIJ) Ministry.”

The British government continues to support a project to draw up prison administration guidelines incorporating human rights principles. Kings College International Studies for Prison Studies Professor Andrew Coyle is leading the project.

The Embassy has spent more than 200,000 pounds streling per year in human rights, governance, environment and narcotics control projects, citing as examples an agreement between the Portuguesa State Government and Red de Apoyo HR group to train police officers in human rights issues and a project with Amnesty International to train Caracas police forces in HR issues.