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Calling for Democracy and Human Rights in Venezuela
The United States and its allies and partners are concerned with growing reports of arbitrary detentions of Venezuelans without due process. Authorities have detained over 2,400 people for protesting the false claims that Nicolas Maduro won the recent presidential election.
In a joint statement, the United States, along with twenty countries and the European Union called for “the respect of democratic principles, as well as the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Venezuelans, particularly the freedom of peaceful assembly and the freedom of expression.”
“We express deep condemnation of the repression of protesters and the violence that has claimed the lives of many Venezuelans in the post-election context,” said the Joint Statement. “We urgently call on Venezuelan authorities to end the violence and release all those who have been detained, including opposition representatives.”
The Joint Statement also called for Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to Venezuela to be reinstated immediately. In early February, Venezuelan government forced the office to close and all staff to leave the country.
On August 2, Venezuela’s National Election Council (CNE) declared Nicolas Maduro as the winner of the July 28 presidential election. The Election Council and the Maduro regime have not presented any proof of this result, and the Joint Statement notes that an online version of more than 80% of the electoral records have been published and show ” a different outcome than that reported by the CNE.”
“We request the immediate publication of all original records and the impartial and independent verification of those results, preferably by an international entity, to ensure respect for the will of the Venezuelan people as expressed at the polls,” said the Joint Statement.
The United States, along with allies and partners, are “committed to supporting all efforts in this direction, and always advocating for a genuinely Venezuelan solution in which democracy and justice, and peace and security will prevail.”