Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Yván Gil. Photo: Federico Parra/AFP.
Venezuela categorically condemned a report presented before the United Nations Human Rights Council by the UN Fact-Finding Mission linked to the Lima Group, which intends to distort the human rights situation in the country and President Nicolás Maduro’s government’s human rights record.
The Venezuelan government issued a statement in this regard on Thursday, September 19, stressing that the Fact-Finding Mission is trying to turn the victims of the Venezuelan far-right’s fascism into victimizers while omiting the actions of the “comanditos” that murdered 27 Venezuelans and inflicted damage on public healthcare, education, and security facilities—clearly constituting a violation of Venezuelans’ human rights.
The UN Venezuela Fact-Finding Mission originated from an initiative promoted by the now-defunct Lima Group at the UN Human Rights Council in 2018, which resulted in so-called expert investigations into human rights in Venezuela and the periodic publication of hostile reports on the state of human rights in the country. In turn, the Venezuelan far-right opposition and Washington have taken advantage of these reports to attack the Venezuelan government and institutions at times of heightened political tension.
In the statement published by the Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Venezuelan government emphasizes that Venezuela has greatly endorsed and morally defended human rights in the region, evidenced by the approval of the 1999 Constitution that came into being through a referendum and a constituent assembly, in which human rights occupy a special place from the beginning to the end.
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An unofficial translation of the Venezuelan government’s statement is provided below:
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela categorically condemns the presentation of the vulgar and pamphlet-like report before the United Nations Human Rights Council, drafted by an illegitimate, politicized, and ideologized mission created by the cartel of governments of the failed Lima Group with the sole purpose of executing orders from Washington to implement the US policy of “regime change” against the legitimate government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
The persistence of this shameful mission is a clear sign of the erratic drift of the institutions of the United Nations system, increasingly detached from their functions, turning them into instruments of coercion and blackmail against the peoples and sovereign governments. They are discredited before world public opinion, as they are incapable of dealing with true crimes against humanity, such as the genocide in Palestine committed by the State of Israel and supported by the governments of the United States and the European Union that use human rights as an instrument of aggression and blackmail against free and sovereign peoples.
Venezuela has complained before the UN Human Rights Council and its High Commissioner, with sufficient evidence of the assassination attempts against the president, vice president, and other high-level officials as well as the attempted invasions of Venezuelan territory carried out through mercenary groups hired in the United States and Europe. Likewise, the pernicious effects of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of the fundamental rights of the Venezuelan people have been amply documented. Unfortunately, the officials who receive such complaints seem to be more concerned with obtaining the blessings of the United States in order to occupy positions in this international bureaucracy.
The absurdity presented by the illegitimate mission intends to turn the victims of the Venezuelan extremist right’s fascism into victimizers while failing to address the actions of “terror commandos” that murdered 27 Venezuelans and inflicted damage on public healthcare, education, and security facilities, which is a direct attack on the fundamental rights of citizens.
The government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has the highest morale in the defense of human rights in the region. Since the approval of the Constitution in 1999, we have created a robust protection apparatus for human rights, which is the pride of all Venezuelans. The popular victory of President Nicolás Maduro Moros on July 28 guarantees the continuation of this path of truth and justice as taught by Eternal Commander Hugo Chávez FrĂas.
Caracas, September 19, 2024
(Últimas Noticias) by José David Delgado
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/SF
