U.S. Mission to the United Nations and other International Organizations
Statement
For Immediate Release
Geneva, September 13, 2019
On Thursday, September 12, the former Maduro regime’s foreign minister and the Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva addressed the UN Human Rights Council to continue their misinformation campaigns designed to redirect blame for the dire situations in their countries.
The reality is that the economic collapse and associated suffering in Venezuela is the result of the former Maduro regime’s corruption and failed policies. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights July 2019 report confirms that Maduro and his thugs are committing gross violations of the human rights of the Venezuelan people and depriving them of their basic rights and freedoms through systemic repression, torture, and intimidation. One of the most unsettling statistics is that the former Maduro regime’s Special Action Forces killed at least 5,287 people in 2018 and, at minimum, another 1,569 by mid-May, 2019.
In Iran, the regime’s systemic mismanagement, endemic corruption, and decision to fund terror abroad rather than support the welfare of the Iranian people has helped put the country into an economic tailspin. The United States stands with the Iranian people in their aspirations for dignity and recognizes that the regime’s longest suffering victims are the Iranian people.
The former Maduro regime and Iran have disingenuously sought to use the Council as a platform to defend their actions without rebuke. The Council should be a venue that holds governments accountable for the protection of human rights, not a stage to spread propaganda.
The United States remains committed to supporting the people of Venezuela and Iran. Those in power can allow for a future of freedom and prosperity for their people, or they can remain isolated with no legitimacy on the world stage. The choice is theirs.