it is a very great pleasure for me to submit to Council for consideration
the Draught resolution on the human rights
situation in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
oral orally revised version on behalf of the core group consisting of Argentina,
Canada, Ecuador, Guatemala, Uruguay and my own country.
that the two mandates of the offers of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights and of the fact finding mission on Venezuela were renewed,
most recently by this council in September 2022.
Both mechanisms have shown that they are extremely valuable and effective,
particularly when it comes to monitoring serious human rights
the fact finding mission has continued
to implement its mandate to collect information
aiming to combat impunity and ensure full
accountability for perpetrators of human rights violations
and ensure there is access to justice for victims.
the office has continued to provide technical
assistance and capacity building in the country,
OHCHR has been seriously limited as a result of
the unilateral suspension of activities by the authorities,
It has still continued to implement its mandate
pursuant to instructions it received from this council
and it hopes to be able to continue to resume its work on the ground.
Both mandates are complementary to each other and
regrettably are still very much needed to ensure the
international community can continue to tackle the progressive
worsening of the human rights situation in Venezuela.
President I now cede the floor to the ambassador of Argentina.
We have borne witness to the crucial role of both
the Office of the High Commissioner and the fact finding mission
on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
We have seen the crucial role that they have played before,
during and after the presidential elections that were
held in Venezuela on the 28th of July.
And we have seen a worsening of human rights abuses and
violations and a restriction of civic space and democratic space,
which is unprecedented in the country.
This includes arbitrary killings and arbitrary detentions,
which in some cases can constitute enforced disappearances.
We've seen disproportionate use of force by
law enforcement officials and by armed groups
Reprisals public defamation against opposition
leaders against peaceful demonstrators,
journalists and other media workers against lawyers, human rights defenders
against persons that have participated in the elections,
indigenous persons and other stakeholders from civil society.
To all of this are added human
rights abuses and violations committed against persons
because they've exercised their human rights
and fundamental freedoms on the Internet.
We've seen closures of communication, media
surveillance and shutting down of websites and digital platforms.
This is worsening a dramatic context and this is why we're proposing a
draught resolution which aims to renew for a two year period the mandates of
and the fact finding mission.
This is a draught which has 50 additional co sponsors
And it's the outcome of several rounds
of negotiation consultations with interested delegations,
and we have attempted to tackle all issues raised in
an honest and transparent manner.
We would call on delegations to support the draught resolution as tabled. Thank you
