UN official Volker Turk drew ire of the Venezuelan government after condemning what he says are abuses by state forces.
Venezuela’s National Assembly has voted to declare United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk persona non grata after he publicly criticised the government’s human rights violations.
The unanimous Tuesday declaration follows comments from Turk last week before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, condemning what he said were arbitrary detentions and forced disappearances.
In remarks before the declaration, Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez accused Turk of turning a “blind eye” to other rights abuses, such as the deportation of Venezuelan immigrants living in the United States to a detention facility in El Salvador.
However, Turk released a statement expressing concern over those deportations in May, while his remarks about alleged abuses in Venezuela come at a time when numerous human rights organisations have condemned the Venezuelan authorities’ crackdown on political opposition after a contested election last July.
The declaration of Turk as persona non grata does not have an immediate impact, but the government could move to expel his office from the country, as has occurred in the past.
Tensions have been high in Venezuela since President Nicolas Maduro declared victory in a 2024 presidential election, which the opposition has maintained was fraudulently stolen by the government.
Human rights groups have said that the Maduro government oversaw a crackdown on dissent after the election, which left dozens dead. Police also arrested opposition lawmakers, whom the government accuses of collaborating with hostile foreign powers.
A recent legislative and regional election saw lower turnout amid calls for a boycott from the opposition and fear of government repression.
While the Maduro government has criticised the administration of US President Donald Trump for its mass deportation of immigrants living in the US, which has also drawn concern from human rights groups, Venezuela has been open to cooperation with the Trump administration on questions of immigration enforcement, agreeing to receive people deported from the US in March.
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