UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Tuesday voiced his deep concern over the high and continuing number of arbitrary detentions, as well as disproportionate use of force reported in the aftermath of presidential elections in Venezuela, and the resulting climate of fear.
“It is especially troubling that so many people are being detained, accused or charged either with incitement to hatred or under counterterrorism legislation. Criminal law must never be used to limit unduly the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association,” UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said in the biweekly UN press briefing in Geneva.
According to official statements, over 2,400 people have been arrested since 29 July. This figure includes the arbitrary detention of protesters, human rights defenders, adolescents, people with disabilities, members of the opposition or those perceived to be connected to them, as well as people who served as electoral observers accredited by opposition parties in polling stations.
“The High Commissioner calls for the immediate release of everyone who has been arbitrarily detained, and for fair trial guarantees for all detainees” Shamdasani said. “The disproportionate use of force by law enforcement officials and the attacks on demonstrators by armed individuals supporting the government, some resulting in deaths, must not be repeated.”
She said there were also reports of acts of violence against public officials and public buildings by some demonstrators.
“All deaths in the context of protests must be investigated and those responsible held accountable, in line with due process and fair trial standards,” Shamdasani told the journalists.
ENDS
For more information and media requests, please contact:
In Geneva
Ravina Shamdasani - + 41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org or
Liz Throssell - + 41 22 917 9296 / elizabeth.throssell@un.org or
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on ongoing arbitrary detentions, disproportionate use of force fuelling climate of fear in Venezuela
TRT: 1’28
SOURCE: OHCHR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: English/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 13 August 2024 – GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
1
1
1
Edited News | UNITED NATIONS
Conflict in Myanmar between the military junta and opposition forces is increasingly brutal, with both sides likely responsible for international crimes including summary executions, top independent rights investigators said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , IOM
Sudan’s deepening humanitarian crisis caused by nearly 16 months of war has left countless women and girls subject to sexual violence and rape and tens of thousands of children at risk of death from hunger, UN aid teams said on Tuesday.
1
1
2
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Tuesday strongly condemned the storming of his Office’s representation in Sana’a by the Ansar Allah de facto authorities and renewed his call for the immediate and unconditional release of all UN staff detained in Yemen.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNICEF
UN rights chief condemns Israeli minister for justifying war crime starvation of civilians in Gaza. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk is “shocked and appalled”, a spokesman said, at Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich’s statement earlier this week in which he deplored aid for civilians in the Gaza Strip and suggested that the deliberate starvation of Palestinian civilians in Gaza could be “justified and moral” as long as Israeli hostages are held by Hamas.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
COVID-19 makes a worrying comeback, WHO warns amid summertime surge COVID-19 infections are surging globally, including at the Paris Olympics, and are unlikely to decline anytime soon, the World Health Organization (WHO) says. The UN health agency is also warning that more severe variants of the coronavirus may soon be on the horizon.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , WHO
In a bid to prevent a polio epidemic in Gaza, UN humanitarians on Tuesday repeated continuing international calls for a ceasefire, to allow a mass vaccination campaign to get under way.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA
New forced displacements have continued in Gaza as regional tensions escalate after a deadly strike in the Syrian Golan Heights where 12 youngsters were killed over the weekend, UN humanitarians have said.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR
News of another deadly shipwreck tragedy off the coast of Mauritania is a clear indication of the desperation people on the move continue to face as they attempt to escape strife, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Concerns continue to grow over the impact of a possible polio outbreak in Gaza, amid disastrous sanitary conditions and a lack of access to health care, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , OHCHR , UNICEF
Poliovirus detected in Gaza sewage puts thousands at risk amid increasing ‘anarchy’. In Gaza, tests conducted by the Global Polio Laboratory Network have confirmed the presence of poliovirus in six sewage samples collected on 23 June from Khan Younis and Deir al Balah.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
Renewed wave of deadly Israeli strikes on Gaza must stop – UN Human Rights Office
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
Institutionalised forced labour by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea constitutes grave violations of human rights – UN report