On September 26, the United Nations called on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government to accept humanitarian aid and expressed “its deepest concern with the grave violations of human rights” in the crisis-stricken country.
The United Nations Human Rights Council’s resolution – which passed with 23 votes for, 7 against, and 17 abstentions – stated:
“[The Human Rights Council] exhorts the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to accept humanitarian assistance to face the shortages of food, medicines and medical supplies, the rise of malnutrition, especially among children, and the outbreak of diseases that were previously eradicated or under control in South America”.
The resolution also urged Maduro to let UN Human Rights Council chief Michelle Bachelet put together a report on the conditions on the ground.
The UN’s human rights body’s plea coincided with a group of Latin American countries and Canada requesting the The Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate Maduro’s government over allegations of crimes against humanity for its use of violence to quell political rivals, the first time that member nations of the court referred a fellow state to ICC prosecutors.
In a speech before the seventy-third session of the United Nations General Assembly on that same day, Maduro denounced actions against his governments as a “diplomatic offensive”.
He added: “The oligarchies of the continent – and those who rule them from Washington – want political control of Venezuela… [Venezuela] will never come to its knees.”