Caracas .- Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil criticized on Monday the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, and accused him of having an “immoral bias” and of acting as a “sounding board for falsehoods,” after the official pointed out that he has not received from the Venezuelan authorities an official list of released political prisoners or permits for visits.
“The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights insists on a biased narrative towards our country, repeating unfounded accusations and deliberately omitting the impact of unilateral coercive measures on the rights of the Venezuelan people,” Gil said in a message broadcast on his Telegram channel, which he accompanied with a photo of Türk.
Without referring to the issue of releases, the Venezuelan chancellor indicated that the high commissioner “finds it difficult to detach himself from the agenda of extremism in Venezuela” and that despite the serious human rights violations in the world, he prefers to opt for “his immoral bias” against the country.
“It becomes difficult to maintain serious technical cooperation when your office ends up acting as a sounding board for falsehoods. In Venezuela, the path is peace and coexistence; those who want to contribute with respect will be welcome,” the message concluded.
Türk indicated earlier that his office has not received from the Venezuelan authorities an official list of political prisoners released after the US attack earlier this year and the capture of Nicolás Maduro, nor has it had unrestricted access to detention centers, as requested.
Technical cooperation questioned by Gil
He pointed out that none of those requests “have been successful to date” and called for greater transparency regarding the release of these detainees.
After Maduro’s capture, the government in charge of Delcy Rodríguez announced a process of releases of a “significant number” of people, to which was added the approval of an amnesty law that has granted 7,727 full freedoms, the vast majority of them to people who were on parole with precautionary measures. Only 253 were incarcerated.
In his statement, Türk highlighted as a positive element that he had met with the Venezuelan authorities at the highest level and that they agreed to resume the issuance of visas for their staff, who will thus be able to return to the country.
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The representatives of the UN Human Rights Office were expelled from Venezuela in February 2024, after the high commissioner expressed concern about the possible forced disappearance of activist Rocío San Miguel, who was released days after Maduro’s capture, after almost two years in prison.
