and rape of the migrants. September 2018. Photo: UNHCR/Stephen Ferry
NEW YORK, USA — The crisis in Venezuela will not be solved by sanctions that “can lead to starvation”, a UN-appointed rights expert said last week. Special Rapporteur Idriss Jazairy, who reports to the Human Rights Council, issued the warning against the background of widespread suffering in the South American country, linked to spiralling economic woes and deep political uncertainty.
An estimated three million people have left the oil-rich country since 2015, while supporters of self-appointed interim president Juan Guaidó, continue to demonstrate against the government of the incumbent, Nicolás Maduro, who was re-elected last May amidst allegations of electoral irregularities and a widespread opposition boycott.
“Sanctions which can lead to starvation and medical shortages are not the answer to the crisis in Venezuela,” Jazairy said in a statement, prompted by the imposition of sanctions on Venezuela’s national oil company by the United States.
