Venezuela Welcomes OHCHR Condemnation of US Sanctions

On Tuesday, Venezuela’s Representative to the United Nations (UN) Hector Constant welcomed that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) condemned the U.S. blockade against his country.

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"The economic situation in this South American country has been not only aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic, but also by the sanctions against its oil industry and the seizure of assets, which caused a 69 percent drop in goods and services imports from 2015 to 2019,” OHCHR Michelle Bachelet stated on Monday.

Despite the sanctions and financial persecution implement by the United States, the administration of President Nicolas Maduro has managed to build 3,6 million homes and plans to complete 5 million houses by 2025, has given food vouchers to over 7,5 million families, and advances in the massive COVID-19 vaccination, Constant recalled.

So far, 15 percent of the Venezuelan population have been fully immunized against COVID-19, and over 6,8 million people have received the first dose of the Abdala, Sinopharm, or Sputnik V vaccines.

During the 48th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Bachelet also stated that the agreements reached in the Mexico-hosted dialogues between the Bolivarian government and the opposition would favor the sovereignty and development of Venezuela.

However, she accused the Maduro administration of allegedly detaining and persecuting opposition leaders and human rights defenders. Constant rejected these statements, arguing that the OHCHR used sources of little credibility and did not contrast its data with those of the Venezuelan authorities, as required by its own work methodology.

"These unfounded criticisms fuel the agenda of multiform aggression against Venezuela," he stressed, adding that his country’s acceptance of the OHCHR technical support to strengthen the Venezuelan justice system confirms the commitment of the Bolivarian government to the protection of human rights.