Foreign Minister Diana Mondino arrived this afternoon in the city of Geneva, as part of her official visit to the Swiss Confederation and the Republic of Austria, and as the first activity of her extensive agenda she addressed the 57th United Nations Human Rights Council to discuss the human rights situation in Venezuela.
On behalf of the Core Group and other signatory countries, Mondino said: “We wish to convey our deep concern about the serious structural human rights crisis that Venezuela is experiencing, which has been further accentuated in 2024 in the context of the recent electoral process. This includes the suspension of cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner, among other issues.
Speaking at the 57th UN Human Rights Council, the Minister said that “in the weeks following the July 28 elections, the human rights situation has worsened at an alarming rate: arbitrary arrests of opposition figures, journalists and protesters, including children, adolescents, women and people with disabilities, some of which could constitute enforced disappearances; disproportionate use of force by law enforcement officers and armed civilian groups known as “collectives”; calls by the State to file complaints against those who participated in peaceful demonstrations; cancellation of passports for journalists and human rights defenders; as well as the judicial persecution initiated by the Venezuelan State against presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia.”
He also stressed: “Of particular concern is the damage that these actions cause to the rule of law, democracy and respect for the civil and political liberties of the Venezuelan people, and that they result in a deterioration of Venezuela’s obligation to respect and guarantee human rights.”
Under the pretext of inciting hatred or under anti-terrorist legislation, people who seek to exercise their political rights and their legitimate right to peaceful protest are persecuted, detained and deprived of their liberty. In addition, we have witnessed actions aimed at the persecution of children and adolescents, and we therefore firmly demand the obligation to ensure that they are treated in strict accordance with international standards for the protection of children.”
“We urge Venezuela to immediately and unconditionally release all those arbitrarily detained, to end the wave of repression against political opponents and protesters that is intensifying throughout the country, and to fully respect international standards on due process and conditions of detention, in accordance with the international instruments ratified by that country on the matter,” he added.
In closing, he stressed that “we urge the Venezuelan State to resume cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner and to allow the entry into the country of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission so that they can duly fulfill their mandates.”
It should be noted that Chancellor Diana Mondino spoke on behalf of the Core Group and the adhering nations, namely: Argentina; Canada; Chile; Ecuador; Guatemala; Paraguay; Germany; Australia; Austria; Belgium; Bulgaria; Croatia; Denmark; Slovakia; Spain; United States; Estonia; France; Finland; Georgia; Ireland; Israel; Italy; Japan; Latvia; Liechtenstein; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Malta; Montenegro; Monaco; New Zealand; Panama; Netherlands; Poland; Portugal; Czech Republic; United Kingdom; Romania; Sweden; Switzerland; Uruguay.
Mondino is on an official visit to Switzerland and Austria, where he will carry out an extensive work agenda that includes his participation in the Public Forum of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and in the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), based in Vienna, in addition to meetings with the highest authorities of international organizations, local authorities, businessmen and investors from both countries.
