President of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez. Photo: AN Press.
The deputies of the National Assembly (AN) unanimously approved this Tuesday during the regular session of Parliament the proposal that Venezuela withdraw from the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights while Volker Türk is in charge.
“Those who are in favor of requesting the executive branch of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to withdraw from the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights while this satrap Volker Türk is in charge of his office, please express this with the usual signs approved unanimously,” said Jorge Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly.
Parliamentarians also approved declaring the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, persona non grata.
“In consideration of the honorable representatives who are in favor of declaring Mr. Volker Türk persona non grata in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and of all the officials accompanying him, please do so using the customary sign. It is unanimously approved,” stated the Speaker of Parliament, Jorge Rodríguez.
The highest representative of the legislative branch stated that Volker Türk is incapable of speaking out about the situation of Venezuelan hostages in El Salvador. “It is a crime against humanity,” he added, “and Nayib Bukele may have been born of a woman and a man, but he doesn’t have a single trace of humanity. He is a beast.”
“As long as this satrap remains there, as long as this scum continues to represent the so-called United Nations Human Rights Commission, we have nothing to do with that office. We’re leaving that office as long as this man, who has done nothing but tarnish the original intention of the Human Rights Commission, remains in office,” Jorge Rodríguez declared.
On the other hand, Representative Rodríguez endorsed Representative Iris Varela’s request to ask the Public Prosecutor’s Office to open a case against Volker Türk for alleged crimes committed against Venezuela. “I completely agree with what Iris Varela is proposing. This man has committed crimes in Venezuela. Volker Türk has committed crimes punishable in Venezuela. He is an accomplice to kidnapping. He is a slanderer. He is a hypocrite. The Attorney General is discussing a case with him.”
Rodríguez emphasized the situation of 18 Venezuelan children detained and separated from their families in the United States. “Venezuelans, let us not forget that these children are without the embrace of their mothers, of their families, where they don’t feel that love. Let us not forget the names of these children, where the grandmothers are demanding the return of their grandson and granddaughter … These children are Venezuelans; they have to return to their homeland … We see these children as young as three years old, who don’t understand what they are experiencing, the evil that exists in the United States.”
The head of the legislative branch, holding photographs of the children detained in the United States, stated that these minors are in a hostile environment, condemning it as “infested with xenophobia and racism, where the word ‘Venezuelan’ has become a target of war.”
He also emphasized in his speech that the children have been transferred to foster homes, “but in most cases, these so-called foster homes are not supervised and do not meet the necessary conditions.”
He added that they are in those places “for the $2,000 a month they get for each child.”
In this regard, he appealed to the national conscience by emphasizing the importance of defending the right of Venezuelan children to be reunited with their parents. “When you kiss your child, understand that you have to fight for the children’s return to Venezuela because they are ours,” he stated during his speech.
The president of the National Assembly warned about the consequences that family separation can have on the psychological development of minors. He stated that, at an early age, children lack the ability to understand their surroundings, which poses a risk to their personal growth.
He also condemned what he described as an exclusionary view present in some countries, which, he said, operate on the basis of racial discrimination. He pointed out that this view represents a threat to the harmonious development of children.
Rodríguez presented the case of a Venezuelan girl, Gloriannis, who was separated from her mother at five months old. He mentioned that at this stage of development, human beings only recognize two forms of interaction: affection and threat.
Meanwhile, Representative Rodríguez condemned the situation of 252 Venezuelans in El Salvador, who are being “beaten and tortured.” He criticized Volker Türk’s inaction in the face of ongoing situations such as the events in Gaza, the murder of journalists and representatives of the International Red Cross, and the kidnapping of Venezuelan migrants.
In this regard, Rodríguez asked the Venezuelan population to join a signature campaign to support this petition. “Let’s take to the streets to denounce this injustice. Let’s sign petitions, share photos, smile proudly, and show the world the faces of our children, and let’s not rest until they are returned to us. Let’s make this letter from President Maduro and Pope Leo known to the people. Let’s take to the streets, for it is in the streets that we’ll achieve this,” he expressed.
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The first vice president of the National Assembly, Pedro Infante, referred to the violation of a series of international conventions regarding the 252 migrants kidnapped in El Salvador and the violation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in reference to the case of the 18 children abducted in the United States.
“That’s why, in this National Assembly debate, we want to support the announcement yesterday of a letter sent by the president to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, urging the world to become aware of the violation of the human rights of Venezuelans for the simple reason of being Venezuelan, of being a migrant. Nowhere does it establish that being a migrant is a crime. And we also support, in this debate, the declaration of Mr. Volker Türk, High Commissioner of the United Nations, as persona non grata,” Infante said.
Infante explained that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948, establishes, in Article 3, “Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person.” This article is being violated by the United States and El Salvador in relation to the 252 Venezuelans who have disappeared and been kidnapped in El Salvador.
Article 9, “No one shall be arbitrarily arrested, detained, or exiled.” Article 10, “Everyone has the right in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an impartial, independent tribunal in the determination of his rights and obligations or of any criminal charge against him.” Article 11, “Everyone charged with a criminal offense has the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.” “This is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” Infante said.
“Mr. Volker Türk, is this being done for the 252 Venezuelans?” the parliamentarian asked.
He also read the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 9, paragraph 1, stating that no one shall be subjected to arbitrary detention. Article 9.2: Every person arrested shall be informed of the reasons for his or her arrest at the time of his or her arrest. Article 9.3: Every person detained shall be brought promptly before a judge and shall have the right to trial within a reasonable time or to release. “International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This is being respected, Mr. Volker Türk,” he reiterated.
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Article 16, paragraph 1: Each State Party undertakes to prohibit, in any territory under its jurisdiction, other acts which constitute cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and which do not amount to torture as defined in Article 1.
“Here, the American Convention on Human Rights has been completely violated, the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations has been completely violated, the Rome Statute has been completely violated, and the International Criminal Court has been completely violated by the United States government and the government of Nayib Bukele, or Nayib Menguel, as the president of this assembly calls him,” said Representative Infante.
Similarly, he reiterated the Convention on the Rights of the Child of the United Nations, Article 2, that the States Parties shall respect the rights set forth in the Convention and ensure their application to every child under their jurisdiction without any distinction.
Article 3: States Parties undertake to ensure the child such protection and care as is necessary for his or her well-being, taking into account the rights and duties of the child’s parents, guardians or others legally responsible for him or her, and to this end shall take all appropriate legislative and administrative measures.
Article 9: States Parties shall ensure that a child shall not be separated from his or her parents against their will, except as may be determined by competent authorities subject to judicial review in accordance with applicable law and procedures.
Article 11: States Parties shall take measures to combat the illicit transfer of children abroad and the wrongful retention of children abroad. To this end, States Parties shall promote the conclusion of bilateral or multilateral agreements.
“This is so that the United Nations system, Mr. Volker Türk, who speaks about human rights in Venezuela, can speak out, say something about this. They say nothing about that. Just as they say nothing about the tens of thousands of women, children, and civilians murdered every day in the Gaza Strip by the Israeli Zionist regime,” he concluded.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JB/SH