– Europa Press/Contact/Marwan Naamani – Archives
MADRID, December 17 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The government of Venezuela on Tuesday accused the UN of trying to “align itself” with the countries that contribute the most to its financing to the detriment of the “authentic” defense of human rights, after the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Volker Turk, criticized the opacity of Nicolas Maduro’s decrees on the state of external shock in this Latin American country.
“The lack of credibility of the High Commissioner’s so-called report on Venezuela reveals a worrying move away from the UN system’s genuine defense of human rights to align itself more with the interests of the powers that condition its funding in exchange for political favors, endangering the fundamental principles established in the UN Charter,” said Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil.
In a statement posted on his Telegram account, the diplomat “firmly” rejected Turk’s statements, which he defended as a “moral duty.”
UN official Gil denounced “while ignoring the US assault on a ship carrying Venezuelan oil, it is preparing a report full of errors that add to the attacks on our country.” “This situation not only undermines the credibility of the UN, but also calls into question its commitment to justice and equity at the international level,” the minister concluded.
These statements come after the Austrian lawyer criticized the fact that the content of the recent decrees approved by Maduro on the state of external shock remains unpublished, so that this opacity “protects them from scrutiny and makes it difficult to assess their compatibility with international law”.
The state of external unrest is provided for in article 338 of the Venezuelan Constitution and is decreed in the event of an external conflict endangering the security of the nation, its citizens or its institutions.
Specifically, the measure grants the government extraordinary powers to mobilize troops, restrict civil rights and control the media. Caracas justified this measure by tensions in the region due to American military operations in Caribbean waters against drug trafficking and Washington’s possible intervention in Venezuelan territory.
Turk expressed concern about “the impact that intensifying US military pressure will have on human rights” and reiterated his call for the United States to “use established methods of law enforcement to counter the serious problem of drug trafficking.”
On the other hand, he announced that “I no longer have any type of international staff in the Latin American country” and assured that “we have made every possible effort” to continue operating in Venezuela, “requesting visas and dialoguing with the authorities, but without success.”
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