Michelle Bachelet condemned the intimidation and criminalization of human rights defenders in Venezuela

Michelle bachelet condemned this Monday the persecution of human rights defenders and trade union leaders in Venezuela by the regime of Nicolás Maduro and criticizes the lack of disclosure of public data in the country.

“The role of civil society is even more essential and must be protected“The High Commissioner for Human Rights emphasized in her opening speech the 48th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The former Chilean president expressed his concern for intimidation and criminalization of activists and encouraged dialogue for university elections.

With regard to the lack of transparency on the part of the Nicolás Maduro regime, he indicated that the lack of public data prevents adequate monitoring of public policies.

He also said that his Office had evaluated and made recommendations on the detention centers of the regime and he called for the release of political prisoners: “We remain ready to accompany the ongoing police and judicial reforms to support compliance with applicable human rights standards. Of the cases shared through our cooperation mechanisms, 152 detainees have been released since June 2020. I reiterate the my call for the full release of all arbitrarily detained persons, and I celebrate the acquittal of Jaulio Bratar. “

He also lamented the shortages of the population in the context of the economic crisis, as incomes remain dramatically low and insufficient to ensure an adequate standard of living, which affects food and education. “The pre-existing humanitarian and economic situation was exacerbated both by the covid-19 pandemic caused by sectoral sanctions, further limiting access to basic services. I reiterate my call for these sanctions to be lifted,” he said. pointed out.

The report by Bachelet’s office calls on countries to maintain their humanitarian aid in Venezuela, in particular with regard to the pandemic, and to ensure a fair distribution of vaccines, which have been widely used. available in rich countries at the expense of the poor.

Bachelet announced that last Friday the agreement between his office and the Venezuelan government was renewed so that UN human rights personnel could work in the country. Thanks to this latest understanding, the observers of his organization in Venezuela have gone from six to twelve.

“I trust that the political dialogue currently taking place in Mexico can lead to meaningful solutions and translate into further advances for the protection of human rights,” he concluded, referring to the process of dialogue between Chavismo and the opposition. .

Afghanistan and China

In other aspects of his speech, the High Commissioner denounced that the new Taliban regime in Afghanistan is breaking his promises of respecting women’s human rights and amnestying people related to the previous US-backed government.

In her report, she said that in a month of Taliban control “women have been progressively excluded from public space.” Girls over the age of twelve have already been banned from attending school in many parts of the country, and numerous women’s protection departments in the country have been dismantled while their staff was threatened, she reported.

Bachelet also regretted not having “significant access” to the Xinjiang Chinese region, Where the Uighur Muslim ethnic group lives, and said for the first time that his office is “finalizing the assessment of available information on allegations of serious human rights violations in this region, to make it public.”

China rejects an investigation into Xinjiang. The United States, based on studies by Western researchers, accuses China of interning more than a million Uyghurs in “camps” in the region. Beijing denies this figure and claims that these are “vocational training centers.”

The environmental crisis

Intensifying environmental threats constitute “the most important challenge to the exercise of human rights in our era,” Bachelet said, urging politicians to take action.

“Interdependent crises linked to pollution, climate change and biodiversity multiply threats, amplifying conflicts, tensions and structural inequalities, and making people increasingly vulnerable,” he said.

Bachelet stressed that this “triple planetary crisis”, largely caused by human action, already has a broad and direct impact on a whole range of human rights, such as “the right to adequate food, ‘water, education, housing, health, development and even life.’

Pollution “is the cause of one in six premature deaths,” he noted. Bachelet listed a list of environmental crises such as famine in Madagascar, desertification in the Sahel, water scarcity in the Middle East, fires in Siberia and California, and floods in China and Germany.

“Addressing the global triple environmental crisis is imperative” and is “achievable,” he said.

(With information from EFE and AFP)

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