On Wednesday, Michael Fakhri, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, asked for the lifting of sanctions against Venezuela.
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During a press conference held in Caracas, he highlighted the efforts made by President Nicolas Maduro's administration to ensure the right to food. However, Venezuelans continue to face difficulties in accessing sufficient good and healthy food.
"During my visit, I was able to firsthand witness how unilateral coercive measures, in the form of economic sanctions, have limited the government's budgetary capacity to implement social protection programs and provide basic public services," Fakhri noted.
"The unilateral coercive measures against Venezuela have also increased the cost of supplying humanitarian aid and prevented international financial institutions from providing any financing. The damage disproportionately affects people living in conditions of extreme poverty or vulnerability," the UN Special Rapporteur said.
"Unilateral coercive measures are cruel and ruthless and hinder the realization of the right to food. I urge all involved States to immediately review and lift sectoral sanctions imposed on Venezuela, including secondary sanctions against third parties," Fakhri said.
"What gives me hope is that the Venezuelan constitution recognizes the right to food and food sovereignty. Venezuela has many progressive laws developed through effective participation mechanisms that have the potential to realize the right to food," he said, praising the actions of the authorities to diversify the Venezuelan economy.
"I acknowledge the Government's efforts to reduce its dependence on oil revenues and increase local production in rural, urban, and peri-urban communities," Fakhri noted.
"I urge the Venezuelan government to maintain and expand its support to farmers, fishermen, shepherds, livestock breeders, urban and suburban farmers, women, Indigenous peoples, and Afro-descendants," he expressed, praising the Bolivarian government for supporting small-scale producers through programs such as the Farmer's Scientific Alliance.