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GENEVA / HRC BACHELET VENEZUELA
STORY: GENEVA / HRC BACHELET VENEZUELA
TRT: 2:17
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANAGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 05 JULY 2019, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1.Wide shot, Human Rights Council
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“I am hopeful that the access which I was granted – together with the authorities’ subsequent acceptance of a continuing presence of two human rights officers to conduct monitoring, and provided technical assistance and advice – signify the beginning of a process of constructive engagement on the country's many human rights issues.”
3.Wide shot, delegates
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“As our report makes clear, essential institutions and the rule of law in Venezuela have been eroded. The exercise of freedom of opinion, expression, association and assembly, and the right to participate in public life, entails a risk of reprisals and repression. Our report notes attacks against actual or perceived political opponents and human rights defenders, ranging from threats and smear campaigns to arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment, sexual violence, killings, and enforced disappearance.”
5. Wide shot, delegates
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“The death in custody six days ago of Rafael Acosta Arévalo, a retired Navy captain – allegedly after torture – is deeply regrettable. I note the opening of an investigation and the arrest of two military counter-intelligence officers. However, there is a pattern of torture reports in Venezuela in the context of arbitrary detention. The authorities must ensure full investigation in accordance with international standards, as well as accountability and, where relevant, remedy for all cases of alleged torture.”
7. Med shot, delegates
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“The only way out of this crisis is to come together, in dialogue. I encourage the Government to view the opposition and human rights defenders as partners in the common cause of human rights and justice, and to plant the seeds for a durable political agreement that leads to reconciliation. Among other points, the Government has agreed to allow us to carry out an evaluation of the National Commission for the Prevention of Torture, including a commitment to allow us full access to all centres of detention.”
9.Wide shot, Human Rights Council
UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said she was ‘hopeful’ that Venezuelan authorities are ready to address human rights violations in the country.
Addressing the Human Rights Council in Geneva today (05 Jul), UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said, “I am hopeful that the access which I was granted – together with the authorities’ subsequent acceptance of a continuing presence of two human rights officers to conduct monitoring, and provided technical assistance and advice – signify the beginning of a process of constructive engagement on the country's many human rights issues.”
On the report which is published by her office, Bachelet said, “as our report makes clear, essential institutions and the rule of law in Venezuela have been eroded.”
She continued, The exercise of freedom of opinion, expression, association and assembly, and the right to participate in public life, entails a risk of reprisals and repression. Our report notes attacks against actual or perceived political opponents and human rights defenders, ranging from threats and smear campaigns to arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment, sexual violence, killings, and enforced disappearance.”
The report, published by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), was mandated by the Human Rights Council, in response to longstanding concerns by Member States.
In her statement, Bachelet also said that her team had conducted a technical visit to Venezuela in March; and made nine visits to interview Venezuelan refugees and migrants based in several South American countries, as well as Spain.
She recounted her mission to the country two weeks ago, to meet senior officials and politicians, including President Nicolás Maduro, and President of the National Assembly, Juan Guaido, who declared himself interim President in January, sparking the latest unresolved political crisis to beset the oil-rich Latin American nation. She also met members of civil society and heard testimony from victims of grave human rights violations.
Previous OHCHR reports have highlighted killings, the use of excessive force against demonstrators, arbitrary detentions, ill-treatment and torture. The latest publication warns that “if the situation does not improve, the unprecedented outflow of Venezuelan migrants and refugees will continue, and the living conditions of those who remain will worsen”.
The Human Rights chief recounted that the death in custody six days ago of Rafael Acosta Arévalo, a retired Navy captain – allegedly after torture – is “deeply regrettable.”
She noted “the opening of an investigation and the arrest of two military counter-intelligence officers,” adding that “however, there is a pattern of torture reports in Venezuela in the context of arbitrary detention. The authorities must ensure full investigation in accordance with international standards, as well as accountability and, where relevant, remedy for all cases of alleged torture.”
In June, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said that some four million people are now believed to have left the country in the last four years, amid reportedly dire shortages of food and basic services.
The OHCHR report’s findings are based on more than 550 interviews with victims and witnesses of abuses and the deteriorating economic situation in Venezuela and eight other countries.
Bachelet reiterated, “The only way out of this crisis is to come together, in dialogue. I encourage the Government to view the opposition and human rights defenders as partners in the common cause of human rights and justice, and to plant the seeds for a durable political agreement that leads to reconciliation. Among other points, the Government has agreed to allow us to carry out an evaluation of the National Commission for the Prevention of Torture, including a commitment to allow us full access to all centres of detention.”
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