DEMAS joins the call initiated by Human Rights Watch to deny Venezuela’s bid to gain a seat in the UN Human Rights Council, which is subject of vote on October 17.
’Venezuela’s brutal crackdown on dissent, and its failure to tackle a humanitarian crisis that is largely of its own making, give rise to serious concerns about its fitness as a candidate for the United Nations Human Rights Council.’ (…)
(…) ’The Human Rights Council was created 13 years ago to replace the Human Rights Commission, whose credibility had been shattered in large part because of the participation of states with records of gross human rights violations. In the interest of safeguarding the integrity of the Human Rights Council and fulfilling the vision of its creators, we urge delegates to the UN General Assembly to apply the membership criteria of its own resolution when casting their secret ballots on October 17. Venezuela clearly falls far short of those standards.’
The whole text of the pledge and list of signatories can be found here.