General Debate under Item 2:

Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General

20 March 2019

Oral Statement by Union of Arab Jurists and Geneva International Centre for Justice

Thank you, Mr. President.

We welcome the annual report and the oral updates of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. We would like to address to this Council our concerns on the situation occurring in Venezuela.

As reported by the UN High Commissioner for Refugee, in the last few years over 3 million Venezuelans fled the country. This exodus, the largest in the recent history of Latin America, is due to the ongoing humanitarian crisis affecting Venezuela. People continue to leave the country due to the lack of food, medicine, and essential services. In this regard, we hope that there would be no further actions worsening the humanitarian situation.

Our organization and Geneva International Centre for Justice are deeply concerned by the growing calls for military intervention in Venezuela. Today marks the 16th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. Until this day, the Iraqi people are suffering from the devastating aftermath of the invasion, occupation, and military campaigns. The international community cannot let the same thing happen in Venezuela.

Mr. President, we would like to remind the Council and its members that any military intervention can only worsen the current situation. Likewise, sanctions will lead to the starvation of the population and to collapse of the health system. We agree with the Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of the unilateral coercive measures that dialogue should be the foundation of peaceful settlement of disputes. Therefore, the international community should engage in constructive dialogue with the Government of Venezuela to find solutions to the very real challenges being faced.

Thank you.