Santo Domingo de Guzmán/Washington: Taking note of the preliminary report by the United Nations Expert Panel on the presidential election in Venezuela which indicated that the National Electoral Council (CNE) of Venezuela had yet to present the electoral records that substantiate the validity of the results announced on August 2, 2024, 17 countries have demanded the immediate publication of all original records and the impartial and independent verification of those results, preferably by an international entity.
“Any delay in this process calls into question the August 2, 2024, official proclamation,” they stated.
These 17 countries noted that that the digital version of more than 80% of the electoral records showed a different outcome than that reported by the CNE. They appealed for “wisdom and restraint” in Venezuela, requesting the immediate return of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to Venezuela and calling on Venezuela to ensure the necessary conditions for it to carry out its mandate fully.
The 17 countries who signed the appeal were Argentina, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, the Kingdom of España, Guatemala, Guyana, the Italian Republic, Morocco, the Netherlands, Panamá, Paraguay, Perú and the Portuguese Republic.
They condemned the repression of protesters and the violence that has claimed the lives of many Venezuelans in the post-election context. “We urgently call on Venezuelan authorities to end the violence and release all those who have been detained, including opposition representatives,” they stated.
“Acceptance and respect for the dignity and integrity of all individuals are the essential principles upon which peaceful coexistence in our societies is built. We urge 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 are concerned that this reality currently does not exist in Venezuela. Reports of arbitrary detentions of Venezuelans without due process are alarming, and therefore we urgently call for their immediate release,” they stated.
In addition, they called on Venezuela, as a state party to the Caracas Convention on Diplomatic Asylum of 1954, to comply with its provision by issuing the safe passage that will allow the six asylum seekers currently residing in the official residence of the Republic of Argentina to safely leave Venezuelan territory.
“Our nations have previously appealed for peaceful dialogue and negotiations to resolve serious conflicts. Now more than ever, Venezuela must honor that legacy to restore peaceful coexistence, public safety and political stability, which according to accounts by the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela of the UN Human Rights Council, are being threatened by the Venezuelan security authorities,” they claimed.
The office of the Spokesperson of the United States of America said today (IST) in Washington that these countries stated that at this decisive juncture for Venezuela and the region, all social and political actors must exercise the utmost restraint in their public actions.
Washington stated the current situation called for a broad, inclusive, and good-faith dialogue to facilitate a political agreement that fosters national reconciliation, peace, public security and democracy in Venezuela. “We 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,” a US State Department Spokesperson said.
– global bihari bureau
