Versión Español
Spanish – Diego Arria, former president of the United Nations Security Council, a Venezuelan diplomat, and politician, called for the expulsion of Nicolás Maduro’s regime from the Human Rights Council during his speech at the Geneva 2020 Summit. He also described how the dictatorship in the South American country is made up of corrupt politicians and drug traffickers.
“Maduro definitely represents a criminal corporation with international terrorist associates, and that’s how everyone on the Human Rights Council and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres himself should see this regime,” Arria said.
He also condemned the world for its naivety regarding the Maduro regime and said that because it is “a criminal corporation,” it will not give up power voluntarily.
“We don’t know of a case where a criminal corporation cedes its power gracefully and even less so when they are treated with all deference and cordiality, even by the Secretary-General of the United Nations himself.”
Arria spoke at one of the world’s most renowned human rights events and officially presented the campaign he chairs to have Maduro expelled from the Council. The goal, he explained, is to collect more than a million signatures.
“It is inexplicable that Maduro’s criminal regime can be a member of this organization for the second time,” Arria said at the high-profile international forum.
“Today, we have 126,000 signatures. People in Venezuela are afraid to sign because they fear persecution from the regime. We want a million signatures to ensure that their voices are heard,” he said.
The Venezuelan diplomat and politician pointed out the interference and cooperation of countries such as Russia, China, and Cuba to support Maduro’s regime. He spoke of the presence of more than twenty thousand Cuban agents in Venezuela who provide espionage services and spearhead repression and torture techniques.
He also referred to the position expressed by Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as her predecessor Zeid Raad Al Hussein, who have emphasized the urgency of solving the crisis in Venezuela, which “is devastating everything.”
Arria described only some of the human rights violations in Venezuela, such as the political persecution of dissidents, the existence of political prisoners, extrajudicial executions, and torture that have led to killings.
“Despite everything I have told you, next week, the Maduro criminal corporation hiding behind the name of Venezuela will have a seat as one of the 47 members of the Human Rights Council which was designed precisely to prevent the Maduros of this world from slipping in. This is definitely no way to celebrate 75 years of the United Nations,” he said.
Arria criticized the fact that the Security Council, a body he had previously presided over, did not take a stand on the crisis in Venezuela and that there have been no decisions on the matter. He also criticized the International Criminal Court in The Hague for its apparent lack of interest in the situation in the South American country.
He also urged UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to draw the attention of the Security Council to the fact that Venezuela has become an issue that could “endanger international peace and security.”
Further, Arria presented the official launch of the Global Campaign to expel “Maduro’s criminal corporation from the Human Rights Council.”
“We are aware that if our legitimate claim is to have support in the UN General Assembly, we must obtain as many signatures as possible on our petition. Today we started it with 126,000 signatures and we are going for the million. Help us,” he said.
