The Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Geneva, Ambassador Vincenzo Grassi, took the floor today during the Interactive Dialogue with the Fact-finding mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in the framework of the 57th session of the Human Rights Council.
“The international community and this Council must continue to monitor and address the human rights situation in Venezuela, which causes serious concern”, stated the Permanent Representative, stressing also the importance of the updates from the High Commissioner on the human rights situation in the country.
“We are deeply worried about the increasing human rights violations, arbitrary detentions and widespread restrictions on fundamental freedoms, which particularly affect the political opposition, human rights defenders, and representatives of independent media and civil society”, he said, reiterating “the need for thorough investigations into human rights violations and for those responsible to be held accountable”. Furthermore the Ambassador affirmed that “Italy calls for the release of all political prisoners and stresses the need for a path to freedom and democracy for the people of Venezuela”. He also underlined that “It is essential for the electoral results to be complete and independently verifiable to ensure that the will of the Venezuelan people is respected”.
In conclusion Ambassador Grassi expressed Italy’s call “on the Venezuelan authorities to allow the return of the OHCHR to Caracas, without any alteration to its current mandate and to cooperate meaningfully with it”, as well as to grant the Fact-finding mission access to the country.
Read the full statement here.
