TEHRAN, Jun 20 - The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet arrived in Venezuela Wednesday as part of a visit to review the country's ongoing economic and political crisis.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - She is set to meet with both President Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido before making a final statement to the media on Friday.
Bachelet tweeted that she was looking forward to "working with all actors to promote and protect all human rights for all Venezuelans".
According to the UN, some four million Venezuelans have fled the country since 2015 as basic goods have become elusive, public services and health systems have collapsed and hyperinflation has taken hold.
Bachelet first met with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza on Wednesday night, who said he expressed the government's willingness to work with the high commissioner to "correct what needs to be corrected... in order to preserve the human rights of Venezuelans".
The pair also discussed the impact of "illegal" US sanctions, including a ban on the sale of Venezuelan oil in the US market, which he said hinders the socialist government's advancement of human rights in the country.
Guaido -- who declared himself interim president in January -- says Bachelet's meeting with him can be seen as a "recognition of the catastrophe" in the oil-rich country, despite her coming at his rival Maduro's invitation.
Bachelet, who is preparing a report on Venezuela, also plans to meet with "victims of human rights violations and abuses and their relatives" as well as other members of the community, according to a UN statement.
Source: AFP
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