Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil denounced a “systematic campaign” against his country on Monday, February 23, at the 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland. Gil stated that this campaign is a “political operation disguised as a legal debate”, which leads to the freezing of benefits and prejudice, criminalization, and xenophobia against Venezuelan migrants.
Furthermore, Yván Gill demanded the release of the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, and the first lady, congresswoman Cilia Flores, who were kidnapped by the United States earlier this year.
Venezuela demands “the immediate release, by the United States government, of the constitutional president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro Moros, and his wife, First Lady Cilia Flores,” the minister declared to the United Nations Human Rights Council.
The minister of foreign affairs reiterated that the Bolivarian government has always promoted national dialogue and reconciliation, and that it is currently involved in a process of working through past mistakes.
In his speech, Gil defended the diplomatic route and “the path of international cooperation based on the legal equality of States.”
The minister also demanded “the cessation of all unilateral coercive measures,” “respect for the sovereignty of states,” and “a human rights agenda that does not shy away from the world’s great tragedies” and “that recognizes all victims equally, without political selectivity for any of them.”
These measures, he said, have serious impacts on human rights, particularly economic, social, and cultural rights. Gil further noted that the UN Human Rights Council has warned about the negative effects of these actions on access to health, nutrition, development, and a dignified life for African peoples, emphasizing that they should not be used as an instrument of political pressure.
“Venezuela has chosen a path,” Yván Gil stated. “The path of peace with sovereignty, of dialogue without renouncing our principles,” and “of internal reconciliation without forgetting justice,” he insisted, alluding to the recently approved amnesty law.
The interim government of Venezuela has begun releasing 379 people. The announcement was made by Congressman Jorge Arreaza, in compliance with the deadlines established by the country’s new Amnesty Law .
According to the government, the central objective is “to grant a general and full amnesty to all those who have been prosecuted or convicted” for political offenses. The measure covers the period between January 1, 1999 (the date of former President Hugo Chávez’s inauguration) and January 30, 2026 (the day Rodríguez announced the bill he submitted to the National Assembly).
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights is in talks with Caracas to reopen an office in Venezuela, from which its staff were expelled in February 2024.
“The Venezuelan government has taken steps to temporarily resume cooperation with the High Commissioner,” the UN agency told AFP on Monday.
According to the source, negotiations are underway to reach “a longer-term agreement that will allow the High Commissioner to fully fulfill his mandate in Venezuela.”
First published by Brasil de Fato in Portuguese.
The post At the UN, Venezuelan FM denounces “systematic campaign” against the country and demands the release of Maduro and First Lady appeared first on Peoples Dispatch.
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