Hard diplomatic setback for the government of Nicolás Maduro. Venezuela lost its candidacy on Tuesday to continue occupying a position in the Human Rights Council in the United Nations Organization (OUU).
The vote took place at the General Assembly, held at the New York headquarters. Chile and Costa Rica were elected and beat Venezuela, which was fighting with those other two countries for two vacant seats for Latin America and the Caribbean.
The result was eloquent. Chile obtained 144 votes, to 134 Costa Rica and 88 the Venezuelan candidacy. In total, 14 new members were elected to a body that is based in Geneva and whose mandate runs from 2023 to 2025.
Venezuela is currently part of this council and aspired to re-election for a second term, which is the maximum. However, groups in defense of human rights carried out an extensive campaign to denounce the government of Caracas for the history of repression of the Maduro executive.
Louis Charbonneau, director for the UN of Huma Right Watch (HRW), celebrated that the door to Venezuela has been closed. Charbonneau maintained that there is evidence that Maduro and other senior members of his team may be responsible for crimes against humanity. A government facing these kinds of accusations should not sit in the highest UN rights body," Charbonneau said after the vote.
The Human Rights Council is made up of 47 countries, which are elected for 3-year terms, and since its creation has often been criticized for accommodating states with very dubious records. Charbonneau had already warned that "Venezuela's vindictive attack on government critics makes the country unsuitable for membership in the UN's main human rights body."
HRW also stressed that choosing Venezuela would mean "slapping the millions of Venezuelans who suffer from human rights abuses and the millions more who are forced to flee this failed state."
Last month, the UN Independent International Mission for Venezuela accused the civil and military intelligence of that country (Sebin and the Dgcim) of committing crimes against humanity to repress political dissidence, through a modus operandi of abuses dictated from the most high level.
The UN General Assembly urges states that vote to elect members of the Council to "take into account the contribution of the candidates to the promotion and protection of human rights."
The departure of Venezuela will mean that China and Russia lose an important ally in this United Nations body, which in recent months has been more divided than ever since its creation in 2006. The composition of this council is relevant, especially in a context of acute geopolitical tensions that end up being debated in Geneva.
The president of Chile, Gabriel Boric, celebrated his country's entry into the organization. "We have learned the very good news that as a country we have obtained the first majority in the region in the vote for the integration of the Human Rights Council," he said. Costa Rica also welcomed its success. Both will join other Latin American countries such as Argentina, Bolivia, Cuba, Honduras, Mexico or Paraguay on that council.
