Government demanded that Nicolás Maduro comply with Bachelet human rights report

The Argentine government demanded that the Nicolas maduro the fulfillment of the claims of the the High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet. And he demanded that UN offices be set up on the “ground” to monitor the situation as claimed by the former Chilean president, who last year denounced thousands of human rights violations in the country Caribbean by state forces.

Today, Bachelet has stood firm. He said civic and democratic space in Venezuela continued to shrink and called on Maduro’s regime to reverse this situation in the face of this year’s gubernatorial elections.

The position of the Alberto Fernández government was defined by the Ambassador to international organizations in Geneva, Federico Villegas Beltrán, who also made a firm request. He demanded that Chavismo “put an end to attacks on NGOs, human rights defenders and journalists”.

Villegas Beltrán referred to a February 25 oral update made by Bachelet that, according to the Argentinian diplomat, “shows us that there is technical progress in the assistance provided by the Office of the High Commissioner AND that the visits in detention centers are continuing “as claimed by the former Chilean president with the support of Argentina and other Western democracies.

“We then urge the Venezuelan government to strengthen said cooperation, establishing a permanent office in the country as required by the High Commissioner,” Villegas Beltrán said and later said: “We urge the government of Venezuela to cooperate fully. with all the mechanisms of this Council and we also urge you to comply fully with the recommendations made by the High Commissioner in her reports and communiques including a call for in-depth investigations into allegations of human rights violations to bring the perpetrators to justice and ensure adequate reparation for victims, as well as end attacks against civil society organizations, human rights defenders and journalists. “

Villegas Beltrán’s speech this Thursday seems the hardest the Alberto Fernández government has had against Venezuela. Yet it was at the UN, where, since last year, he has been claiming Chavism for human rights violations in agreement with Bachelet. This generated a violent attack on Kirchnerism, where journalists and leaders close to Vice President Cristina Kirchner, such as Hebe de Bonafini, Victor Hugo Morales, Alicia Castro and others directly reprimanded the President or Minister of Affairs. foreign Felipe Sola for this post.

On the other hand, at the OAS, where he installed a political ambassador of pure and hard Kirchnerism -Carlos Raimundi- the president maintains a policy of abstaining or rejecting pressure on Maduro. Largely because of the hostility that Casa Rosada maintains with Luis Almagro, secretary general of the organization, whom they consider “an instrument” of Donald Trump’s policy towards Venezuela.

In the OAS, the government tends to coincide with Mexico, Bolivia, and Nicaragua. And he hopes to do it with Ecuador if Andrés Arauz wins. The problem with this strategy is that Joe Biden has signaled that he will not change Trump’s policy towards Caracas at this time.

After thanking Bachelet’s work, Villegas Beltrán said the Argentine government reiterated his “concern about the human rights situation” in Venezuela, as well as by the “political, economic and humanitarian crisis which the country is undergoing”.

He said this was made worse by “increased economic and financial sanctions and the COVID 19 pandemic.” She noted that this had been recognized by the High Commissioner herself in her reports.

This Thursday Miguel Pizarro, appointed as representative to the UN by the Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó – recognized by Washington as interim president of Venezuela -, thanked the governments of Argentina and others for their position in the forum. “Our thanks to Brazil, Ecuador, Japan, Peru, Spain, Albania, Uruguay, UK, Georgia, Slovakia, Argentina and to Colombia for their interventions at the CDDHH in favor of Venezuela and the Venezuelans “, he tweeted.