Venezuela: 847 civil society organizations, social and popular movements urges USA to lift undue ban on Venezuela



By Emmanuel Daudu


About Eight hundred and forty -Seven (847) civil society organizations, social and popular movements has made a joint appeal to request the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet and the UN Special
Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human
rights, Alena Douhan, to formally request the Government of the United States of America (USA)
to unconditionally lift the unilateral coercive measures it has been developing against the country, Venezuela.



The undersigned civil society organizations, social and popular movements, made this joint
appeal to request the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet and the UN Special
Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human
rights, Alena Douhan, to formally request the Government of the United States of America (USA)
to unconditionally lift the unilateral coercive measures it has been developing against the country.



According to a statement shared to a cluster of Nigeria journalists disclosed that since 2014, the Government of the United States has been applying a large number of unilateral
coercive measures against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, which arbitrarily and unilaterally produce legal effects and international responsibility on the part of those who apply them, and
constitute a crime against humanity since they hinder access to goods and services necessary for
the social development of the Venezuelan people, in addition to violating international law and the
principle of self-determination of the people.

It was further gathered by Africa Security Investigation News that
during the last few years, the US regime and the European Union have increased their aggression
against Venezuela, compromising the Venezuelan State’s capacity to respond to the difficulties derived from the global health emergency represented by the COVID-19 virus, making it difficult for
State institutions to take any initiative to buy the required vaccines, preventing them from accessing
their own resources deposited in international private banks.

It was also revealed that the main objective of the U.S. financial blockade has been to deny or prevent Venezuela’s access to medicines, food, fuel, services, essential infrastructure, etc. in order to provoke a health crisis.

The organizations in it's statement stressed on their worries that blocking a country financially constitutes a Crime against Humanity according to the definition given
by the Rome Statute, in its article 7. Recently, President Joe Biden, has indicated that he reserves the sanctions of the era of his predecessor, Donald Trump, as an option to keep the Venezuelan
government at the negotiating table.

"Such conditioning is illegal, illegitimate, immoral, and criminal, given that it has been sufficiently evidenced by the United Nations bodies and rapporteurships that such unilateral coercive measures
“constitute a violation of international law”, denying the sovereign equality of States, constituting an intervention in the internal affairs of Venezuela. In this regard, Resolution 2625 of the UN General Assembly –of October 24, 1970– reaffirms the sovereign equality of States, the self-determination of peoples and the obligation of every State not to intervene in matters outside its internal jurisdiction, establishing that:
“...no State may use or encourage the use of economic, political or any other type of measures to coerce another State in order to obtain from it the subordination of the exercise of its sovereign rights and to obtain advantages from any other State. Every State has the inalienable right to choose its political, economic, social and cultural system without interference in any form by any other State”.
In sum, the implementation of the UCM has implied a de facto blockade against Venezuela, which violates the human rights obligations of the countries that impose them, and which has had the purpose of attacking the Venezuelan economy in order to increase the pressure on the country, making
it difficult for the Venezuelan State to carry out its international responsibilities in the area of social rights, in particular the policies of food, health, life, education and development –aggravated by the context of the COVID-19 pandemic– and as a result of the blockade, the State’s income has since contracted by 99% and the country is currently living on 1% of its income".


"Finally, we note that in the Report made by the Rapporteur on her visit to Venezuela, the High Commissioner reminded all parties of their obligation under the Charter of the United Nations to observe the principles and norms of international law, including the principles of sovereign equality, political independence, non-intervention in the internal affairs of States and the peaceful settlement of international disputes. The Special Rapporteur urges them to resolve any disputes through judicial and other competent international institutions.

Africa Security Investigation News, gathered that in support of the appeal, the concerned organisations are from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

This one na crime against humanity.

Uncle Jeo pls help Venezuela.

Tighten the noose