UN Human Rights Expert Condemns US Blockade of Venezuela

Illustration of a US warship. (Wikimedia Commons/U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Adrian White)

JAKARTA - Four United Nations (UN) human rights experts have condemned the partial blockade of the United States Navy against Venezuela, establishing it as illegal armed aggression and calling on the US Congress to intervene.

The United States has deployed a large military force in the Caribbean and recently intercepted an oil tanker as part of a naval blockade against Venezuelan vessels it considers to be under sanctions.

"There is no right to impose unilateral sanctions through an armed blockade," the UN experts said in a joint statement, launching Al Arabiya from AFP (24/12).

The four people who signed the joint statement are: Ben Saul, special rapporteur on the protection of human rights in the fight against terrorism; George Katrougalos, an expert in promoting a democratic and just international order; development expert Surya Deva; and Gina Romero, who deals with the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

Blockades are a use of military force that is prohibited against other countries under the UN Charter, they added.

"This is a very serious use of force that is unequivocally recognized as illegal armed aggression under the 1974 General Assembly Definition of Aggression," they said.

"Thus, this is an armed attack under Article 51 of the Charter - in principle giving the victim state the right to defend itself," they said.

It is known that US President Donald Trump accused Venezuela of using oil, the main resource of the South American country, to finance "narcoterrorism, human trafficking, murder, and kidnapping."

Caracas denies involvement in the drug trade. They say Washington is trying to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro, to seize Venezuela's oil reserves, the largest in the world.

Since September, US forces have launched dozens of air raids on vessels that Washington, without providing evidence, says are transporting drugs. More than 100 people have been killed.

"This murder is a violation of the right to life. It must be investigated and those responsible must be held accountable," the experts said.

"In the meantime, the US Congress must intervene to prevent further attacks and lift the blockade," they added.

They called on countries to take steps to stop the blockade and illegal killings and bring the perpetrators to justice.

The UN experts are independent figures mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to report their findings. Therefore, they do not speak on behalf of the United Nations itself.

Venezuela itself, after requesting an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council in New York on Tuesday, accused Washington of carrying out "the greatest blackmail in our history."