Highlights: Turn of the screw in Caracas: Venezuela expels UN human rights staff. On Thursday February 15, the Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs announced the end of the activities of the United Nations human rights office in Venezuela. A deadline of 72 hours given to the institution's officials to leave the country. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights established an office in the Caribbean country in 2019, and has since issued several very critical reports on the situation in the country, says RFI's Alice Campaignolle.

Thursday, February 15, the Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs announced the end of the activities of the United Nations office for human rights in Venezuela, with a deadline of 72 hours given…

Turn of the screw in Caracas: Venezuela expels UN human rights staff

On Thursday February 15, the Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs announced the end of the activities of the United Nations human rights office in Venezuela, with a deadline of 72 hours given to the institution's officials to leave the country. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights established an office in the Caribbean country in 2019, and has since issued several very critical reports on the situation in the country.

The UN and Venezuelan flags in front of the building housing the UN human rights office in Caracas. AP - Matias Delacroix

By: RFI Follow

With our correspondent in Caracas

Alice Campaignolle

Thunderclap Thursday in Venezuela where government authorities took the decision to expel officials from the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights. “

We are taking this decision because of the inappropriate role adopted by this institution, which has transformed into a private office for putschist and terrorist forces who are constantly plotting against the country

,” explained Yvan Gil, Minister of Foreign Affairs.

This decision was taken after the publication the day before of the conclusions of the special rapporteur for the right to food. Criticisms have been expressed, particularly regarding the treatment of prisoners, who are not always fed during their detention. Criticism also concerns the food bags distributed by the government, which are insufficient and of poor quality.

Read alsoVenezuela: inventory of a prison system in complete decay

Finally, this United Nations office had also expressed concerns regarding the recent arrest of a lawyer and human rights activist,

Rocio San Miguel,

director of the NGO

Control Ciudadano

(“Citizen Control”). Ella was detained late last week at Simon Bolivar airport in Caracas, as she was preparing to board a plane to leave the country.

In recent months, a wave of detentions of political opponents has worried human rights defenders. An expulsion therefore looks like retaliation but the Venezuelan government prefers to evoke a colonialist and abusive attitude on the part of the United Nations.

The spokesperson for the High Commission for Human Rights affirmed that dialogue with the authorities was always open.

Turn of the screw in Caracas: Venezuela expels UN human rights staff

Turn of the screw in Caracas: Venezuela expels UN human rights staff

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