In a unanimous vote, the Venezuelan National Assembly has declared the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, a persona non grata, following his accusations of the ruling government committing human rights violations.
Last week, Turk condemned the Venezuelan leadership for conducting arbitrary detentions and enabling forced disappearances in front of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Various human rights groups have reaffirmed the UN Human Rights Chief’s comments, following a nationwide crackdown on Venezuelan political opposition after a highly disputed election last year.
In response to Turk’s comments, the National Assembly President, Jorge Rodriguez, accused Volker Turk of “turning a blind eye” to other cases of human rights violations, particularly those committed by the United States during the mass deportations of immigrants to an El Salvador detention facility. However, Turk released a report earlier condemning the deportation move in May.
Although the status of a persona non grata won't immediately impact the Human Rights Chief, anticipated threats to remove him from his office from Venezuela are a possibility.
Tensions in Venezuela, already heightened due to political discontent, have been exacerbated by the decision of the National Assembly.
Venezuela has been engulfed in similar human rights violation accusations after President Nicolas Maduro’s allegedly fraudulent victory in the 2024 election, and the subsequent crackdown on dissent and opposition.
Dozens of deaths have been reported since the President’s crackdown began, with police also arresting opposition lawmakers, who imply that Maduro’s government is engaging with “hostile foreign powers.”
Venezuela was previously seen to open itself to cooperation with the Trump Administration, establishing an agreement over rising questions of immigration. The government, in March, had agreed to take in those deported from the United States, with minimal criticism of the US government’s crackdown, which also raised concerns of human rights violations.
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