The US operation in Venezuela undermined international law

The United Nations on Tuesday expressed its deep concern about the military operation in Venezuela that led to the arrest of Nicolas Maduro, warning that it “undermined a fundamental principle of international law.”

“States should not threaten or use force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state,” Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, told reporters in Geneva.

She continued, “This is what we are seeing now,” speaking after American forces arrested Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife on Saturday morning under the cover of an air bombardment on Caracas, accompanied by a heavy deployment of naval forces.

The spokeswoman called on the international community to “speak with one voice… to clearly say that this is an act contrary to international law established by member states.”

Maduro appeared on Monday before a court in New York and pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, particularly related to drug trafficking, stressing that he is still the president of Venezuela and has been kidnapped.

– “Continuous deterioration”
Shamdasani rejected the American justifications for the operation, which spoke of “historic and horrific human rights violations” by the Maduro regime.

She said, “Accountability for human rights violations cannot be achieved through unilateral military intervention that violates international law.”

She pointed out that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has been constantly talking about the “continuous deterioration of the situation in Venezuela” for a decade.

She added, “We fear that the current instability and additional militarization in the country resulting from American intervention will lead to a further deterioration of the situation.”

She pointed out that the state of emergency declared by the Venezuelan authorities on Saturday allows for the confiscation of property, the imposition of restrictions on freedom of movement, the suspension of the right to protest, and other measures.
She said, “This military intervention is far from a victory for human rights… Rather, it harms the architecture of international security and makes every country less safe.”

The Commission on Human Rights has been monitoring the situation in Venezuela from Panama since the expulsion of its employees from this country at the beginning of 2024.

For its part, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that about eight million people in Venezuela, representing a quarter of the population, were in need of humanitarian assistance before the American operation.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said that it has not yet observed any indications of mass displacement since Saturday.

UNHCR spokeswoman Eugene Byun confirmed that the agency is “closely monitoring the situation and cross-border movements,” adding that UN agencies are ready to “support emergency relief efforts and protect displaced people in need when necessary.”