International
Venezuela submits report to UN Human Rights Committee
October 11 |
Venezuela presented its fifth periodic report at the 139th session of the United Nations Human Rights Committee, in which it highlighted progress, achievements and challenges in this area for the country.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yván Gil, added that since 2021, the National Assembly has sanctioned more than 67 laws “key for the promotion and direction of civil and political rights of the Venezuelan population”.
The Bolivarian Government projects a sustainable economic development “with an increase in the levels of national productivity of the public and private sector” for the remainder of 2023 and by 2024.
Gil presented the country’s Fifth Periodic Report on the protection and guarantee of rights enshrined in international legislation and the Bolivarian Constitution, before the 139th session of the UN Human Rights Committee.
The head of the Venezuelan diplomacy distinguished that the figure of national dialogue “has been a sustained policy of the Executive, promoting the solution of differences within the framework of the rule of law, through more than 500 public calls for dialogue among Venezuelans”, he considered.
He indicated that measures have been taken in Venezuela to increase awareness of the Pact and its applicability in national law, such as the establishment of the first National Human Rights Plan 2016 – 2019, whose projects, actions and resources necessary for its implementation were incorporated in the institutional operational plans of the organs of the State Powers.
As part of political rights, the Minister pointed out that during the period 2012 – 2020, 10 national electoral processes were held, including three presidential elections.
In closing his participation, Minister Gil stressed that in Venezuela they attach vital importance that the issue of human rights “be treated objectively and impartially, without selectivity, double standards or politicization, in a spirit of genuine dialogue and cooperation, in accordance with the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations”.
On the other hand, the Foreign Minister denounced before the committee that his country is the victim of a multiform aggression driven by the US, with the imposition of coercive measures.
“We have been the object of a multiform aggression promoted by the Government of the United States of America that has negatively affected the enjoyment of human rights of the Venezuelan population,” said Gil during the presentation.
Gil reiterated that the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and other agencies of different countries adopted more than 930 restrictive or punitive unilateral coercive measures related to Venezuela, which caused the reduction of the State’s capacities to obtain financial resources, as well as goods and services necessary to satisfy the main needs of the citizens of that Caribbean nation.
“This onslaught against Venezuela has included the adoption of a set of unilateral coercive measures whose impact has been documented and condemned by the Human Rights Council, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and various special procedures of the Human Rights Council,” he commented.
The Venezuelan delegation present in Geneva, together with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, includes Attorney General Tarek William Saab; the second vice-president of the Supreme Court of Justice and president of the Civil Cassation Chamber, Magistrate Henry Timaure.
Also the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Multilateral Affairs, Rubén Darío Molina; the Deputy Minister of Domestic Policy and Legal Security of the Ministry of People’s Power for Domestic Affairs, Justice and Peace, Alana Zuloaga and the Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, Ambassador Hector Constant, among other officials.
International
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
The United States and Mexico have reached an agreement to comply with current water obligations affecting U.S. farmers and ranchers and for Mexico to cover its water deficit to Texas under the 1944 Water Treaty, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
The department уточified that the agreement applies to both the current cycle and the water deficit from the previous cycle.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Mexico of failing to comply with the water-sharing treaty between the two countries, which requires the United States to deliver 1.85 billion cubic meters of water from the Colorado River, while Mexico must supply 432 million cubic meters from the Rio Grande.
Mexico is behind on its commitments. According to Washington, the country has accumulated a deficit of more than one billion cubic meters of water over the past five years.
“This violation is severely harming our beautiful crops and our livestock in Texas,” Trump wrote on Monday.
The Department of Agriculture said on Friday that Mexico had agreed to supply 250 million cubic meters of water starting next week and to work toward closing the shortfall.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, quoted in the statement, said Mexico delivered more water in a single year than it had over the previous four years combined.
Trump has said that if Mexico continues to fall short of its obligations, the United States reserves the right to impose 5% tariffs on imported Mexican products.
Mexico’s Deputy Foreign Minister for North America, Roberto Velasco, said that a severe drought in 2022 and 2023prevented the country from meeting its commitments.
International
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Several people were shot on Saturday in an attack on the campus of Brown University, in the northeastern United States, local police reported.
“Shelter in place and avoid the area until further notice,” the Providence Police Department urged in a post on X. Brown University is located in Providence, the capital of the state of Rhode Island.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that he had been briefed on the situation and that the FBI was on the scene.
At 5:52 p.m. local time (11:52 p.m. GMT), Brown University said the situation was still “ongoing” and instructed students to remain sheltered until further notice.
After initially stating that the suspect had been taken into custody, Trump later posted a second message clarifying that local police had walked back that information. “The suspect has NOT been apprehended,” the U.S. president said.
International
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
The Colombian government stated on Thursday that it would have no reason to reject a potential asylum request from Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro should he leave office, as regional tensions persist over the deployment of U.S. military forces in the Caribbean since August.
“In the current climate of tension, negotiations are necessary, and if the United States demands a transition or political change, that is something to be assessed. If such a transition results in him (Maduro) needing to live elsewhere or seek protection, Colombia would have no reason to deny it,” said Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio in an interview with Caracol Radio.
However, Villavicencio noted that it is unlikely Maduro would choose Colombia as a refuge. “I believe he would opt for someplace more distant and calmer,” she added.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro also commented on Venezuela’s situation on Wednesday, arguing that the country needs a “democratic revolution” rather than “inefficient repression.” His remarks followed the recent detention and passport cancellation of Cardinal Baltazar Porras at the Caracas airport.
“The Maduro government must understand that responding to external aggression requires more than military preparations; it requires a democratic revolution. A country is defended with more democracy, not more inefficient repression,” Petro wrote on X (formerly Twitter), in a rare public criticism of the Venezuelan leader.
Petro also called for a general amnesty for political opponents and reiterated his call for forming a broad transitional government to address Venezuela’s prolonged crisis.
Since September, U.S. military forces have destroyed more than 20 vessels allegedly carrying drugs in Caribbean and Pacific waters near Venezuela and Colombia, resulting in over 80 deaths.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned that attacks “inside Venezuela” will begin “soon,” while Maduro has urged Venezuelans to prepare for what he describes as an impending external aggression.
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