[News] UN Special Rapporteur Blasts ‘Devastating’ and ‘Illegal’ US and EU Sanctions against Venezuela
Anti-Imperialist News
news at freedomarchives.org
Mon Feb 15 17:41:09 EST 2021
https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15123
UN Special Rapporteur Blasts ‘Devastating’ and ‘Illegal’ US
and EU Sanctions against Venezuela
By Paul Dobson - February 15, 2021
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mérida, February 15, 2021 (venezuelanalysis.com
<http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/>) – The United Nations Special
Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the
enjoyment of human rights has visited Venezuela and blasted
Washington’s sanctions regime.
Alena Douhan, who was in Venezuela from February 1-12, published
herpreliminary findings
<https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26747&LangID=E>
on Friday after meeting a “wide range of interlocutors,” including
from state institutions, a vast variety of political parties,
independent grassroots movements, trade unions, business lobbies, the
Church and NGOs. She will present her full report at the 48th UN Human
Rights Council session scheduled for September.
In the preliminary findings, the Belarusian lawyer concluded that
Washington’s 2015state of national emergency
<https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/13697> and the US’, EU’s and
allies’ subsequentsanctions
<https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/14679> regime “violates
international law” and “the principle of sovereign equality of
states,” while also constituting “an intervention in the domestic
affairs of Venezuela.”
Douhan especially highlighted the “devastating” impact of the
blockade on “all of Venezuela’s population” as well as on human
rights, the economy and social coverage, directly linking it to the
recentmigration <https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/14966> levels,
increased poverty and deteriorated living conditions.
The human rights lawyer concluded the report by “urging” that
sanctions be “revised and lifted.”
Frozen assets abroad
In the findings, the independent UN expert criticised moves tofreeze
Venezuelan assets abroad <https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15014>,
calling on the UK, Portuguese and US governments and their
“corresponding banks” to liberate them and enable Caracas to attend
to the “needs of its population.”
Douhan made special reference to theCovid-19 emergency
<https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15094> and the obstacles faced to
secure tests, medicines and vaccines.
Human rights
The UN lawyer also stated that the sanctions violate a great number of
human rights, including the right to work, to social security, to an
adequate standard of living, to fair trial and freedom of movement.
“The Special Rapporteur is concerned that unilateral targeted
sanctions in their existing form violate at the very least obligations
emerging from universal and regional instruments in the sphere of human
rights, many of which are of a peremptory character,” her report states.
Healthcare
The expert from the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human
Rights (OHCHR) went on to mention a number of cases in which the
measures have detrimentally affected healthcare.
“The unavailability of resources, including the frozen assets, for
buying vaccines and supporting family planning programs has resulted in
outbreaks of malaria, measles and yellow fever and opportunistic
infections,” she explained.
She particularly pointed to increasing teenage pregnancy rates and
HIV/AIDS infections due to contraception shortages, and “the diversion
of assets of PDVSA’s [seized] US subsidiary, CITGO
<https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14268>, [which] has prevented
transplants of liver and bone marrow to 53 Venezuelan children.”
UN Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive
measures on the enjoyment of human rights Alena Douhan meets National
Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez in Caracas. (@jorgerpsuv / Twitter)
Education
The UN Rapporteur additionally stressed a drop in educational standards
and coverage caused by “the unavailability of financial resources and
reluctance of foreign companies to trade with Venezuela” since 2015,
referring to an “absence or insufficiency of school supplies, school
uniforms and food at school, which used to be provided by the government”
Similarly, she highlighted the suspension of the government-runCanaima
computer program <https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/7647> for the same
causes, as well as “transportation problems, the absence of
electricity, and reduced Internet and mobile phone coverage [which]
endanger the right to education.”
Fuel shortages
The UN official went on to criticisetightening sanctions
<https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14894> against the oil sector, and
fuel and diesel production and purchases in particular.
“The Special Rapporteur is concerned that thelack of gasoline
<https://venezuelanalysis.com/video/15061>, with the resulting rise in
transportation prices, violates the freedom of movement, impedes access
to hospitals, schools and other public services, exacerbates the
challenges in delivering and distributing food and medical supplies –
especially in remote areas of the country,” Douhan’s findings read.
“The reportedlack of diesel fuel
<https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15040>,” she continued, “has a
potential dramatic effect on the production and storage of food, with
the risk of further exacerbating the food insecurity of the Venezuelan
people [...], increasing therefore health risks and threats to life.”
Economy
While noting a range of economic initiatives introduced by Caracas in
recent years, including the opening up of the economy to theprivate
sector <https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/15029>, the rapporteur
noted that wide reaching sanctions
<https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14434> “have exacerbated the
pre-existing economic and humanitarian situation.”
She specifically explained how the blockade “prevents the earning of
revenues and the use of resources to develop and maintain infrastructure
and for social support programs, which has a devastating effect on the
whole population of Venezuela, especially those in extreme poverty,
women, children, medical workers, people with disabilities or
life-threatening or chronic diseases, and the indigenous population.”
She equally made special reference to the state's inability to pay
public sector wages or maintain deteriorated public services, such as
electricity, water, roadways and telecommunications.
Secondary sanctions
The rapporteur was also vehement in criticising international threats,
pressure, andsecondary sanctions
<https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15007> against third parties trading
with Caracas.
According to Douhan, “secondary sanctions [are] not justified under
international law, preventing the government of Venezuela, its public
sector and private companies from purchasing machinery, spare parts,
medicine, food, agricultural supplies and other essential goods even
within the licenses issued by the US government.”
In the financial field, she reported that Caracas suffers from “a
growing number of bank transfer refusals, the extension of bank transfer
periods (from 2 to 45 days), higher delivery, insurance and bank
transfer costs, as well as reported price rises for all (especially
imported) goods.” The Belarusian lawyer additionally mentioned related
problems for Venezuelan migrants sending remittances home.
Finally, the UN official took note of a number of non-sanction related
problems which contribute to the current crisis, including improper use
of humanitarian aid funds, economic mismanagement and corruption.
“It is impossible to see to what extent or real percentage [this
crisis] has been affected by the sanctions, but I can say that there is
evidence that they have had an enormous impact on access to the right to
life, to education, to food medicine, and in every other ambit of
life,” she summarised upon presenting the report.
Douhan is the second UN human rights expert to visit the country in
recent years. Fellow rapporteur Alfred de Zayas has likewise been very
critical <https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/15103>of sanctions
against Venezuela and argued they constitute a crime against humanity.
UN High Commission for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet also visited
<https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14554> in 2020 and has since added
her voice to calls <https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14823> for
sanctions relief.
The Venezuelan government welcomed Douhan’s preliminary findings. In
contrast, the opposition criticised the UN report, claiming that it was
mere “regime propaganda” full of “imprecisions.”
Sanctions against Venezuela began in 2015, but were significantly
increased in 2017 and again in 2019, when the US applied first an oil
ban <https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14268> and later a fully-fledged
embargo <https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14615> on all dealings with
Caracas. Most recently, sectors including food import programs
<https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14659>, airlines
<https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14784>and oil-for-food swap deals
<https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14894> have been targeted by Washington.
--
Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA 94110 415 863-9977
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/news_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20210215/9c26c8ff/attachment.htm>
More information about the News
mailing list