<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
</head>
<body text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
<div class="container content-width3" style="--font-size:20px;">
<div class="header reader-header reader-show-element" dir="ltr"> <font
size="-2"><a class="domain reader-domain"
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14575">https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14575</a></font>
<h1 class="reader-title">Venezuelan Government Slams ‘Biased’ UN
Human Rights Report</h1>
<div class="credits reader-credits">By Ricardo Vaz</div>
</div>
<hr>
<div class="content">
<div class="moz-reader-content line-height4 reader-show-element"
dir="ltr">
<div id="readability-page-1" class="page">
<div>
<div>
<p>Caracas, July 7, 2019 (<a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14453">venezuelanalysis.com</a>)
– The Venezuelan government has disputed the findings
of a report released by the United Nations Office of
the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).</p>
<p>Having seen the report in advance of its publication,
Caracas issued a 70-point <a
href="http://mppre.gob.ve/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Bolivarian-Government-of-Venezuela-presents-70-observations-on-the-report-of-the-UN-High-Commissioner-for-Human-Rights.pdf">statement</a>
pointing towards what Venezuelan authorities term a
“selective and openly biased” view of the human rights
situation in the Caribbean country.</p>
<p>“The distorted view of the report is a result of the
significant shortcomings in the methodology behind
it,” the statement reads. One of the main points of
contention is that out of the 558 interviews carried
out, 460 of them involved people not currently in
Venezuela.</p>
<p>The government went on to criticize the fact that the
report downplays the consequences of US sanctions
against Venezuela and ignores research on the subject,
including a recent study published by Washington
DC-based Center for Economic and Policy Research
(CEPR) which estimated that <a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14446">40,000
people</a> have died since 2017 as a result of US
coercive measures.</p>
<p>The US Treasury Department has levied successive
rounds of <a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/14555">sanctions</a>
against various sectors of the Venezuelan economy, as
well as freezing Venezuelan assets held abroad. The
oil industry has been particularly hit, with an <a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14268">embargo</a>
put in place in January that blocks Venezuela from
exporting crude to the US as well as from <a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14527">importing</a>
diluents needed to produce fuel and refine heavy crude
into exportable grades.</p>
<p>Sanctions have drastically reduced imports by
shrinking the government’s foreign currency revenue,
while also limiting access to financial markets and
placing obstacles to commercial transactions.
According to Torino Capital Chief Economist Francisco
Rodriguez, imports fell to just US $303 million in
April, marking a 64 percent decline from last year’s
average and a 93.2 percent drop relative to 2012.</p>
<p>Despite recognizing that US sanctions “are
exacerbating the economic crisis,” the report contains
no recommendation for the measures to be lifted.</p>
<p>UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle
Bachelet presented the<a
href="https://ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session41/Documents/A_HRC_41_18.docx">
report</a> to the Human Rights Council in Geneva on
Friday. The text argues that Venezuelan special forces
FAES and forensic police body CICPC have been
“responsible for numerous extrajudicial executions,”
and other practices meant to “instil fear and maintain
social control.”</p>
<p>The OHCHR’s report additionally points the finger at
corruption and the deterioration of public services,
as well as difficulties in the population’s access to
food and healthcare, while also expressing “concern”
that Venezuelan migration will continue to grow.</p>
<p>The UN Human Rights body ends with a series of
recommendations, including calling on the government
to investigate serious human rights violations,
dissolve the FAES, and allow a permanent OHCHR country
office to be established.</p>
<p>The report came on the heels of the <a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14563">death</a>
of retired navy officer Rafael Acosta in state custody
on June 29, with the Venezuelan opposition claiming he
died as a result of torture. Two National Guard
officers have been arrested and charged with
manslaughter. Acosta had been arrested for his alleged
involvement in a <a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14560">coup
plot</a> that included the assassination of
President Maduro and other high-ranking figures.</p>
<p>Former Chilean President Bachelet recently made a
historic <a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14554">three-day
visit</a> to Caracas, in which she held meetings
with government and opposition officials, as well as
human rights NGOs and activist groups.</p>
<p>Some of the organizations which met with Bachelet,
such as Fundalatin or the Committee of Guarimba
Victims representing victims of violent street
protests staged by the opposition in 2014 and 2017,
expressed their disappointment that their voices were
not included in the report.</p>
<p>“Bachelet’s report makes the victims invisible and
protects those responsible for the violence that has
caused the country so much damage,” the Committee<a
href="https://twitter.com/VictimaGuarimba/status/1146921981666832389">
said</a> on Twitter.</p>
<p>UN Independent Expert Alfred de Zayas likewise<a
href="https://dezayasalfred.wordpress.com/2019/07/05/un-report-on-venezuela/">
criticized</a> the OHCHR’s report, calling it
“fundamentally flawed and disappointing” and a “missed
opportunity.”</p>
<p>“It is unprofessional for the UN staff to ignore or
not give appropriate weight to the submissions by
[human rights organizations] Fundalatin, Grupo Sures,
the Red Nacional de Derechos Humanos, and the specific
answers provided by the government,” de Zayas wrote in
personal blog, while also lamenting the scarce
attention paid to sanctions in the report.</p>
<p>The UN High Commissioners’ Office likewise announced
on Friday that 22 people had been released from prison
upon request by Bachelet. The list includes journalist
and businessman Braulio Jatar and former judge Maria
Afiuni. Venezuela’s Supreme Court confirmed the
release of Jatar and Afiuni, while offering no
information on the other 20 cases, while<a
href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-un-prisoners/venezuela-frees-judge-journalist-20-students-u-n-idUSKCN1U016V">
Reuters</a> describes them as “students.”</p>
<p><a href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/12528">Jatar</a>
had been arrested in 2016 on charges of money
laundering and extortion, whereas<a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/6338">
Afiuni</a> was indicted on corruption charges in
2009 after she ordered the release of businessman<a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/11958">
Eligio Cedeno</a>. Cedeno had several corruption
charges against him and subsequently fled the country.
Afiuni had been handed a five year sentence in March.</p>
<p><em>Edited by Lucas Koerner from Caracas.</em></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div> </div>
</div>
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
415 863.9977
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://freedomarchives.org/">https://freedomarchives.org/</a>
</div>
</body>
</html>