At the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, a group of 53 countries today issued a declaration on the serious human rights situation in Venezuela, on the basis of a report by the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
At the request of the Group of Lima, 53 countries issued a powerful declaration on the violation of human rights in Venezuela at the meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council, which reflects the growing concern outside the region over the worsening situation in the South American country.
This declaration comes after the report of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, published last 22 June, which documents serious violations of human rights suffered by Venezuelan citizens, including extrajudicial killings, excessive use of force, arbitrary detentions, torture, ill treatment and lack of justice access. In addition, the report stresses that institutional checks and balances and democracy have been eroded in the South American country and that the international community cannot remain indifferent in the face of this situation.
During its intervention, the group urged Venezuela to prevent the fast increase in malnutrition, especially child malnutrition, as well as the serious health crisis. The declaration, which was even more critical than previous ones and endorsed by substantially more countries concerned over the situation, also called for the restoration of the rule of law and democratic order, so as to avoid the serious human rights violations and prevent the crisis from deepening even more.
Furthermore, they called on Venezuela to acknowledge the gravity of the crisis and accept humanitarian assistance and technical cooperation, as well as to cooperate with the United Nations human rights mechanisms and secure open dialogue and participation channels including all of the organization's relevant agencies.
The declaration started off as a pronouncement by the Group of Lima, which was then endorsed by the other 53 countries.