The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is deeply worried about the situation in Venezuela following the United States of America’s military operation over the weekend, warning that it clearly “undermined a fundamental principle of international law”.
“States must not threaten or use force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state,” Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the UN rights office, told reporters in Geneva.
Her comments came after Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were forcibly taken by US commandos in the early hours of Saturday amid airstrikes on the Venezuelan capital backed by warplanes and a heavy naval deployment.
Shamdasani dismissed US justifications of its intervention on the grounds of the Venezuelan Government’s longstanding and appalling human rights record.
“Accountability for human rights violations cannot be achieved by unilateral military intervention in violation of international law,” she insisted. The people of Venezuela deserve accountability through a fair, victim-centred process.
She highlighted that the UN rights office had for a decade consistently reported on “the continued deterioration of the situation in Venezuela”.
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As has been clear in the UN Human Rights Office’s consistent reporting on the continued deterioration of the situation in Venezuela for about a decade, the rights of the Venezuelan people have been violated for too long.
“We fear that the current instability and further militarisation in the country resulting from the US intervention will only make the situation worse.”
The state of emergency declared by the Venezuelan authorities that took effect on Saturday raises concerns as it authorizes restrictions on free movement of people, the seizure of property necessary for national defense, and the suspension of the right to assembly and to protest, among other measures.
The High Commissioner calls on the U.S. and the Venezuelan authorities, as well as the international community, to ensure full respect for international law, including human rights.
The future of Venezuela must be determined by the Venezuelan people alone, with full respect for their human rights, including the right to self-determination, and sovereignty over their lives and their resources.