Venezuela has resumed cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), as reported the Minister for Foreign Relations, Yván Gil, this Monday.
During the 61st session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, Gil reiterated that this is part of the country’s commitment “with the strengthening of its institutions and the continuously improvement of its protection mechanisms” in this area.
Furthermore, the diplomat reiterated that Venezuela will keep defending its independence, dignity, and the rights of its people: “It will do so, just as it has done it until now, with the diplomacy, with words and with the deep conviction that peace is the supreme good of humanity,” he emphasized.
Likewise, the Chancellor stated that human rights should not become a “tool of political pressure” and that their selective application undermines legitimacy and moral authority to the council.
“Venezuela has chosen the path of peace with sovereignty. The path of dialogue without renouncing our principles. The path of internal reconciliation without forgetting justice. The path of international cooperation based on the legal equality of States,” he expressed while referring to the Amnesty Law.
The minister called on the council to be able to examine itself with a critical spirit in order to correct its deviations and act with the same firmness against any violation, “wherever it may come from.”
Moreover, the Venezuelan representative demanded the lifting of unilateral coercive measures and reclaimed respect for the sovereignty of States, as well as a human rights agenda that does not eludes the world’s great tragedies, such as that of the Palestinian people, which do not receive the firm attention required by international law.
