The Government of Venezuela announced this Thursday The decision to suspend the activities of the office of the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights in Caracas on the grounds that it “instrumentalized” its work against the executive branch..
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Foreign Minister Yván Gil told a press conference that the 13 staff working there had 72 hours to leave the country.
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The announcement was made by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil. “This decision was made due to the inappropriate role that this institution has developed, which, far from presenting it as an impartial entity, has led to it becoming the private law firm of the coup plotters and terrorist group that constantly conspires against the country.”.
Gil declared that the decision would be maintained “until he publicly corrects his colonialist, exploitative and violative attitudes before the international community.”
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In addition to suspending the activities of this technical office, the Venezuelan Government An agreement was reached on “a comprehensive review of the terms of cooperation” with this organization within the next 30 days.
Since the signing of the memorandum of understanding in 2019, the office has “adopted a clearly biased and partial attitude, constantly seeking to ensure impunity for individuals involved in various assassination attempts, coups, conspiracies and other serious attacks against sovereignty and the constitution,” the letter continues.
But, “He reiterated his desire to continue cooperation with international mechanisms for the protection of human rights, always on the basis of genuine dialogue and in strict adherence to the principles of objectivity, selectivity, impartiality, respect for sovereignty and non-interference in affairs” internally..
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This decision came a day after Michael Fakhri, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food, assured: The Venezuelan government prevented him from visiting detention centers, and officials constantly changed his agenda during his two-week visit to the country, which ended Wednesday..
This also follows recent statements by the Office of the High Commissioner demanding the release of activist Rocío San Miguel, who was detained and imprisoned for her alleged involvement in an assassination plot against Nicolás Maduro.
San Miguel is the director of the NGO Control Ciudadano, which records human rights violations against civilians and the military. He is also an authority on matters related to the Armed Forces. She was arrested on February 9, while she was preparing to go abroad with her daughter, who was also detained, but was released on parole.
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The prosecution accused him of “treason,” “terrorism” and “conspiracy,” linking him “directly” to an alleged plot to assassinate Maduro.
ex-husband, Retired Colonel Alejandro José Gonzales was also captured on suspicion of “revealing political and military secrets”..
Her two brothers and the daughter’s father were also detained, but they would later be released.
The United States and the European Union, as well as the UN human rights office, expressed “deep concern” about the case.
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It is known that there were some reactions following Thursday’s announcement. The NGO Provea, which defends human rights in Venezuela, stated on its X account that it rejects the government’s decision.
“This measure increases Failure to adequately protect victims against abuse and attempts to prevent international protection organizations from monitoring the serious human rights violations committed every day in the country“, they wrote.
The United Nations Human Rights Office made a statement and expressed regret about the decision. He emphasized that he was researching how to act accordingly..
“We regret this announcement and are evaluating next steps,” office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said in a brief statement. said.
“We continue to meet with authorities and other actors. Our guiding principles have been and will continue to be the promotion and protection of the human rights of Venezuelans,” added the spokesman for the office headed by High Commissioner Volker Turk.
His predecessor in office, Chilean Michelle Bachelet, signed an agreement with the Venezuelan Government in 2019 to stop this situation. Enhance human rights cooperation by allowing UN human rights officers to maintain a presence in the country.
The Technical Advisory Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights was established in Venezuela in 2019, when former President Bachelet assumed this role.
Its main task is to “provide support for the effective implementation of the recommendations issued” in the high commissioner’s reports to the Human Rights Council. At least six reports on the situation in Venezuela have been published since 2019.
Before leaving office in August 2022, Bachelet says she sees progress on human rights in Venezuela but still has “a lot to do”.
Turk visited Venezuela in January 2023 and it was decided that the office would continue operating for another two years. During his stay there, he encouraged the authorities to release all those arbitrarily detained and insisted on measures to end torture.
The commissioner also met with government officials, as well as various segments of civil society, and addressed complaints about extrajudicial killings. But he said there were restrictions on access to some detention centers in the country.
Political scientist Daniel Arias told EL TIEMPO that the technical reports on human rights violations caused “tremendous political damage” to Maduro’s government, which is why Caracas made this decision.
“It is not possible for the UN to correct these documents, so its staff will withdraw from the country,” insists the analyst of regional processes.
Friction with the UN is not new, although Maduro has repeatedly assured that he has good relations with his secretary António Guterres.
After a virtual meeting with Venezuelan rival María Corina Machado, representatives of the New Liberalism party will create a monitoring commission in the Colombian House of Representatives to monitor whether democratic rules are being observed in Venezuela. The idea was proposed by Senator Julia Miranda Londoño. According to Machado, the idea helps raise awareness about what’s happening in Venezuela and could extend to Colombia. “Let the regime understand that the best option is to accept a guaranteed political transition. “Very dangerous and delicate days await us, we need them and we know they are here,” Machado told Colombian representatives led by former senator Juan Manuel Galán.
ANA MARÍA RODRÍGUEZ BRAZÓN
TIME REPORTER
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Source: Exame
