~ by Yoselin Costa, teacher and coordinator of the Volunteer Law Program at the Legal Clinic Centre
The Legal Clinic Centre at the Catholic University Andrés Bello (UCAB) of Caracas, Venezuela, has been operating for approximately 25 years in teaching, research and outreach activities. It is connected to a mandatory subject included in the Andres Bello Catholic University Law School curriculum, allowing students in their last semester to fulfil the legal requirement of undertaking community service.
Serving the Community and Vulnerable Individuals Through Various Activities
The Legal Clinic offers five work activities to the law students:
• Legal Services: We provide free legal advice to people with limited financial resources.
• The Ombudsman’s Office for Children and Adolescents “EL NAZARENO”: this office seeks to ensure the respect of the rights of children and adolescents in cases that involve them.
• The Reconciliation Unit: The unit seeks to reduce violence by promoting alternative means of conflict resolution.
• Volunteer Work: Students in the first semesters of law school carry out community project activities contributing the knowledge they acquire during their studies for the benefit of the community.
• Training Programs: These programs seek to empower citizens through legal matters of interest, with the aim of influencing their communities and becoming ‘information multipliers’.
Our Greatest Joy and Our Greatest Challenge
In pursuing our activities, our greatest joy is to help people who turn to us for legal advice, and our greatest achievement is to train our students for real world legal practice.
During this COVID-19 time, our main challenge was to adjust to distancing and confinement due to the pandemic; however, we searched for ways to provide our services through social networks and call in numbers, so as to not stop our activity.
For example, during the quarantine, Law School Volunteers relied on social media to carry out a project called “For a Violence-Free School” to fight violence in schools. The Project involved students, parents and teachers.
The Risk of Becoming Stateless in Venezuela
Currently, there is a classification called ‘statelessness’, which may be unknown to many, and it is when a person for various reasons is not recognized or linked as a national to any State. This has serious consequences to the effective exercise of their rights and dignity.
The humanitarian crisis affecting Venezuela, in addition to the confinement due to the pandemic, has increased the risk of becoming stateless as new-born babies are not duly registered at the appropriate civil registry.
Also, many parents have migrated leaving their children in Venezuela with no legal protection whatsoever. The following procedures must be carried out for their protection:
• Change of residency;
• Authorization to travel;
• Unilateral parental authority;
• Family placement by direct handover.
In future we aim to reach more people, offering them assistance through our tailored community support. So we ask you as a reader of this blog to please share this valuable information. In this way you’ll be helping our Centre to gain more attention and become better known so more people know to access our services. Below are our details that you can share either individually with people or on your social media. Thank you!
Discover more on: https://bit.ly/3pagxlg
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ClinicaJuridicaUCAB/
Email: centroclinicajuridicaucab@gmail.com
currently pursuing a diploma in Positive Discipline from CECODAP.
Yoselin Costa is a lawyer who graduated from the Catholic University Andrés Bello in 2019. She has been teaching and coordinating the Volunteer Law Program at the Legal Clinic Centre since January 2019and is