Over 50 countries call on Venezuela to open doors to aid, restore rule of law

Led by Peru, more than 50countries urged Venezuela on Thursday to restore the rule of lawand open its doors to humanitarian assistance, as an economiccrisis causes shortages of medicine and growing malnutrition.

Venezuelan security forces are suspected of killing hundreds and they enjoy immunity from prosecution, indicating that the rule of law is "virtually absent" in the country, the UN human rights office said in a report last month.

Critics say President Nicolas Maduro has used increasinglyauthoritarian tactics as the economy spirals deeper into recession and hyperinflation. The conditions spurred hundreds ofthousands of Venezuelans to emigrate in the past year.

"We are concerned by accounts concerning serious humanrights violations that include extrajudicial killings, excessive use of force, arbitrary arrests, torture and ill-treatmentandthe lack of access to justice," Peruvian Ambassador Claudio Julio de la Puente Ribeyro said in the joint statement to theUNHuman Rights Council.

Shortages were forcing Venezuelan families to drasticallyreduce their food intake, and health-care facilities lacked medicineand equipment, de la Puente Ribeyro said.

"We call upon Venezuela to recognize the gravity of itssituation and to open its doors to humanitarian assistance, to co-operate with the Council's human rights mechanisms."

'Critical moment'

Venezuela, backed by allies Cuba and Bolivia, repeatedlyinterrupted de la Puente Ribeyro as he read. They had raised procedural objections to try to block him from speaking, but theforum's president, Slovenian Ambassador Vojislav Suc, ruled hecould proceed.

Venezuela's deputy ambassador, Felix Pena Ramos, rejected"arbitrary or illegal interference."

But Mexican Ambassador Socorro Flores Liera said: "We areconcerned that countries speaking about politicization are really those who are politicizing debates, preventing a group ofcountries from making statements."

British diplomat Bob Last said that technical assistancecould not address all human rights problems in Venezuela, "but this would be a good start and in line with what is expected ofa member of the Human Rights Council."

The United States, usually outspoken about Venezuela, wasconspicuously absent. It withdrew from the council last month,calling for reforms to correct what it sees as a "chronicanti-Israel bias."

"This joint statement comes at a critical moment: Venezuelais in a downward spiral with no end in sight," Leila Swan of Human Rights Watch said in a statement.

"The growing chorus of international concern highlights theneed for continued reporting and action at the Human Rights Council until Venezuela ends the brutal crackdown on itspeople," she said.