One third of deaths due to coronavirus in the country are attributed to health workers “due to lack of equipment and water in hospitals”, said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet.
On Friday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, called for the lifting of economic sanctions against Venezuela so that the country could fight the Coronavirus pandemic more effectively.
“I would like to reiterate my call for the lifting of economic sanctions to facilitate the provision of resources during the pandemic”, – she said at the 45th session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC).
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights cited statistics from “professional associations” that show that 33% of deaths due to coronavirus in Venezuela are attributed to health professionals. According to her, this is “mainly due to lack of biological safety equipment and water in hospitals.
According to Bachelet, the U.S. imposed “additional sanctions on the export of diesel fuel may exacerbate the already critical shortage of gasoline and prevent the distribution of humanitarian aid and essential goods. She recalled that the Coronavirus pandemic has become another problem in addition to “pre-existing emergencies”, particularly in the food sector. According to the Catholic charitable organization Caritas, the High Commissioner said “the rate of acute malnutrition among children reached 15% in July 2020.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, speaking at the general political debate of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, recalled that Caracas has been deprived of access to $30 billion in accounts abroad. According to him, “any company or government that sells any goods or services” to Venezuela, including “food, medicine, fuel, additives for the production of gasoline” is prosecuted. Back in March, Michelle Bachelet expressed concern about the severe impact of sanctions on Venezuelans. Since then, the pressure on the South American Republic has only increased. In recent months, the USA has been harassing ships and companies supplying fuel to Venezuela.
The situation in Venezuela worsened dramatically after opposition leader Juan Guaydo, whose appointment as Speaker of Parliament had been annulled by the Supreme Court two days earlier, declared himself Acting President on 23 January 2019. He was recognised as interim head of state by the USA and joined by the Lima Group countries (except Mexico), the Organisation of American States and a majority of the European Union. President Maduro called it a coup attempt and announced that he had broken off diplomatic relations with the United States. Russia, Belarus, China, Cuba, Iran, Nicaragua, Syria and Turkey spoke in favour of it.