Costa Rica lost against Venezuela for a seat in the U.N. Human Rights Council

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff and wire services

On the vote that took place Thursday, before the U.N. Human Rights Council, Costa Rica lost the possibility of being part of the council, against Venezuela and Brazil.

According to the U.N. report, the two vacant positions before the council were chosen by a majority vote. Of the three nominees, Brazil, Venezuela and Costa Rica, Brazil and Venezuela were chosen.

According to the vote, Brazil received 153 votes in favor, and Venezuela obtained 105 votes in favor. So both countries will occupy vacant positions in the council.

Costa Rica gained 96 votes.

According to Voice of America report, Venezuelan Ambassador Samuel Moncada posted on Twitter "Today is a historic day for our country. International law has triumphed and the attempt to impose a colonial enclave in Venezuela has failed," he wrote. "The U.N. has shown that it belongs to all humanity and not a small group that wants to use it to impose its supremacy."

Human Rights Watch made a statement with 54 other groups on Oct. 10 opposing the South American nation's candidacy because of the government's history of extrajudicial killings and arrests of dissidents, said the VOA report.

The human rights report, issued by the council in July 2018, criticized the government's policies "aimed at neutralizing, repressing and criminalizing political opponents and people critical of the government."

The report suggested that over 7,000 people had been killed in extrajudicial killings by the government.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro slammed the U.N. report last year in a letter to the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, as being biased and inaccurate.

More than 50 countries have declared the Maduro government illegitimate. Instead, the countries, including the United States, recognize National Assembly leader Juan Guaido as the country's legitimate acting president.

The United States left the Human Rights Council in 2018 for its criticism of Israel and the presence of countries with poor human rights records on the council.

"It is a massive source of embarrassment for the United Nations that some governments with egregious human rights records sit on the U.N. Human Rights Council," said President Donald Trump at the time.

Although the president did not name specific countries, U.S. allies Saudi Arabia and Qatar sat on the Human Rights Council at the time and have been criticized for their human rights records.

Venezuela and Brazil will join the other 12 new members elected to the 47-member body and will be in charge of helping bring attention to human rights abuses around the world.

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Does Venezuela deserve to be part of the Human Rights Council? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com