ITUC Calls for End to Unrest in Venezuela via Peaceful Means

The International Trade Union Confederation, ITUC, says the Venezuelan government and the opposition should work to find a solution to end the increasing political urest in the country. 

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“In the last three months, we have witnessed a situation of increasing political violence, and the crisis that the country is facing is becoming ever more serious,” the ITUC and its Regional Organisation the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas, TUCA, said in the statement. 

“We need to establish the circumstances in which these incidents occurred and the legal and criminal responsibilities of the cases. These deaths should not be used to send a political message.”

Since April, opposition-led protests in Venezuela have left at least 95 people died and more than one thousand injured.

Dozens of public buildings including hospitals and schools have also been attacked.

TUCA General Secretary Victor Baez condemned the use of violence to resolve political differences in the country and called on the government and the opposition to find a resolution via peaceful means. 

“The State of Venezuela has an obligation to its citizens, to guarantee their civil and political rights, their right to life and to their right to peaceful protest,” Baez said. “Equally, the representatives of the political opposition should exercise their democratic rights responsibly, stop encouraging unconstitutional actions to achieve their objectives and explicitly condemn the use of violence.”

“No truly democratic political project can be legitimised if it is imposed through violence,” he added. 

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The ITUC said the international community has the duty to support the peace process in Venezuela without interfering or raising conditions that might “prejudice national unity and peace.”

“The international trade union movement is committed to ending the confrontation and reinstating the social and political dynamics in a peaceful environment. This is what the Venezuelan people deserve and what the international community hopes for,” it said. 

The ITUC is the world's largest trade union federation representing 181 million workers in 163 countries and territories.