UNHCR Advance Team to Visit Venezuela on Invitation From Maduro

Following an invitation issued by the administration of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations (U.N.), Michelle Bachelet, announced Wednesday that an advance team from the U.N. will arrive Sunday, Mar. 10, to evaluate a visit by Bachelet herself.

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On Feb. 27, during a meeting with the senior union official and former president of Chile, Bachelet, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza reiterated an official invitation made by Nicolas Maduro to receive her in Venezuela, which the high commissioner addressed this Wednesday during the delivery of her annual report on Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland.

The U.N. group will be made up of five people who will travel through the cities of Caracas, Valencia, Barquisimeto and, possibly, Puerto Ordaz during a ten day stay. They will then prepare a report on the conditions present before the arrival of the High Commissioner.

The advanced team would include two people from the U.N. headquarters in Geneva; two officers of the Regional Office for South America of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, one from the Santiago, Chile office; and one from the Panama office; in addition to a U.N. security officer; according to detailed sources from the organization.

Among the objectives of the visit is to verify whether the state of humanitarian crisis as reported by sectors of opposition is real or not, as well as addressing issues related to health, food, freedom of expression, social conflict, violation of labor rights and violations of human rights.

In order to understand the situation, they will meet with civil organizations and representatives of the government.