Venezuela Condemns New Report From UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—On Friday, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil expressed Venezuela’s condemnation of the latest report by United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, denouncing the organization’s double standards.

“Together with the families of Venezuelans kidnapped in the United States and forcibly transferred to El Salvador, Venezuela condemns the new report from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, which redoubles its politically motivated harassment of our country,” he wrote on social media alongside a statement.

Türk’s report was presented during a Human Rights Council session in Geneva, where Venezuela accused the body of ignoring post-election violence by the Venezuelan far-right and systemic human rights violations against immigrants in the US.

Gil asserted that the UN’s double standards and bias affront both global principles and the UN Charter.

Türk’s statements
On Friday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights discussed Venezuela’s “deteriorating human rights situation,” presenting a report covering the year starting May 1, 2024.

Volker Türk told the Human Rights Council that his office documented arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, torture, and ill-treatment, particularly surrounding recent parliamentary and presidential elections.

Türk noted the “most worrying developments” occurred before last month’s elections when Venezuelan authorities detained nearly 70 people—including opposition figures, human rights defenders, and 17 foreign nationals—on charges of belonging to a terrorist group.

A UN press release states that post-election, the government claimed to dismantle a terrorist network linked to humanitarian organizations.

Türk reiterated that Venezuela’s anti-terrorism laws and enforcement “contradict international norms.” Most terrorism-related detentions involve judicial proceedings failing to meet international standards. The report also notes 28 enforced disappearances after the July 2024 elections—including 12 foreigners denied consular access—and 32 cases of torture, 15 involving adolescents, citing data from US-funded NGOs.

On Venezuelan migrants deported from the US, Türk “expressed concern” about returnees facing “serious risks” but did not address US immigration policies. He urged the US to ensure due process and halt deportations to countries where harm is likely, without mentioning the more than 200 Venezuelans sent to El Salvador.

Politicization and selectivity of the council
Venezuela’s UN representative in Geneva, Alexander Yánez, accused the council of bias, highlighting its silence on post-election violence by the Venezuelan opposition.

Yánez criticized the report’s omission of far-right post-presidential election violence and delays in addressing the 105-day detention of Venezuelan migrants in El Salvador. He contrasted the High Commissioner’s 56-day silence on this case with its rapid responses to far-right opposition allegations against Venezuela’s government.

Yánez also condemned the council’s disproportionate focus on Venezuela—including a $9 million mandate—while ignoring Israel’s actions in Gaza. He accused the UN human rights system of being overly efficient regarding Global South nations but complicit when dealing with Western countries.

Relatives of Venezuelan Abductees in El Salvador Report Human Rights Violations at UN

Communique
Below is the unofficial translation of Venezuela’s statement:

The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela categorically and forcefully condemns the irresponsible, biased, and deeply politicized statements made by United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk before the UN Human Rights Council on June 27, 2025.

It is cynical and deeply offensive that someone who has remained complicitly silent on the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people, the massacres in Lebanon and Syria, and massive human rights violations—including attacks on hospitals, schools, and civilians—should attempt to lecture the Venezuelan people, who have withstood external aggression with dignity.

Mr. Türk has chosen to become an operative for US imperial power, traveling to Washington to receive instructions aimed at legitimizing Venezuelan terrorist groups operating abroad. From there, he orchestrates campaigns to undermine Venezuela’s democratic institutions to no avail.

We condemn your complicit silence regarding the 252 Venezuelan citizens kidnapped and detained in inhumane conditions in El Salvador without due process or family contact. Where is your concern for human rights? Where are your reports and condemnations?

Mr. Volker Türk does not defend human rights: he exploits them politically. His administration will go down in history as one of the most disastrous, comparable to Luis Almagro’s destructive tenure at the OAS.

You seek to undermine the Office of the High Commissioner, colluding with war-promoting, blockade-imposing, regime-change power centers. Yet, like your sponsors, you have failed.

Venezuela reaffirms its commitment to true human rights, peace, social justice, and respect for all peoples. We demand that the UN restore its impartiality and humanist vocation before it is too late.

Caracas, June 27, 2025

Special for Orinoco Tribune by staff

OT/JRE/SF