UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet warned on Friday that the situation in Venezuela could “spiral out of control”, amid ongoing deadly violence and uncertainty linked to the declaration by Juan Guaidó that he had become the country’s interim president.
At the same time, the UN refugee agency (UNCHR) warned of “mounting tension” in the troubled country as some 5,000 people a day continue to leave, a “significant number” of them in “dire” need of protection.
Speaking to journalists in Geneva on behalf of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, spokesperson Rupert Colville said: “We have received information from credible local sources that at least 20 people have died after allegedly being shot by security forces or by members of pro-government groups during demonstrations on Tuesday and Wednesday with many other reported injured by bullets, buckshot and rubber bullets.”
In her statement, Bachelet insisted that it was vital to prevent a repetition of repression against protesters of the Government of President Nicolas Maduro, who was officially sworn back into office just two weeks ago.
Grave rights abuses documented by OHCHR in 2017 included extrajudicial killings, widespread arbitrary detentions, restrictions to freedom of assembly and expression and indiscriminate house raids and attacks.
Colville noted the High Commissioner’s appeal to the Venezuelan authorities to exercise restraint, especially the security forces. They should also respect everyone’s fundamental right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression, he continued, adding that the UN rights chief wished to remind them that the “excessive, disproportionate or indiscriminate use of force is clearly and unequivocally prohibited under international law”.
Echoing comments by UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday that everything must be done to avoid the kind of conflict “that would be a total disaster for Venezuela, for the Venezuelan people and for the region”, Bachelet urged the country’s political leaders to begin “immediate” talks to defuse the situation and find a practical long-term solution to the country’s entrenched social, political and economic crisis.
At the Venezuelan border, meanwhile, UNHCR said that thousands of people continue to leave the country, amid the ongoing economic and security crisis. More than three million have done so in recent years.
Commenting on the situation of those travelling outside Venezuela to neighbouring countries, the UNHCR spokesperson noted that “we have seen a significant number in dire need of international refugee protection and humanitarian assistance”~UNTV CH
