MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

UN High Commissioner due in Venezuela to address the human rights crisis

Türk insisted it was his “job to bring human rights issues to the government and make sure that they are discussed.”

United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights Volker Türk is arriving Thursday in Caracas from Colombia for talks with the Nicolás Maduro administration about human rights, where the latest reports have been anything but favorable.

Türk will be arriving from Colombia to speak with the government, civil society, and the opposition “on various human rights issues” in the country.

“It is very important for me to speak with the government, with civil society groups, with human rights defenders, with the opposition on various human rights issues in Venezuela,” Türk said during a press conference in Colombia after having also visited Ecuador.

Türk insisted it was his “job to bring human rights issues to the government and make sure that they are discussed.” He also said he seeks to “make sure that the human rights perspective is clear when it comes to any measures that the government is taking, particularly when it comes to civic space.” The Venezuelan government has announced it intended to shut down over 60 NGOs, it was reported.

The visit will also take place at a time when Venezuela is reopening internationally, with a rapprochement with the US and Colombia, with whom it has resumed diplomatic relations, and after Vice President Delcy Rodríguez's trip in November to Geneva where she met with representatives of several international organizations to seek greater cooperation for the country.

The Venezuelan opposition group Unitary Platform asked Türk through a press statement to “verify in person the conditions of confinement and the physical and psychological state of health of the more than 240 political prisoners currently held in Venezuela.”