Security Council: Venezuela (Competing Resolutions)

Security Council meets to discuss the situation in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela during the 8476th meeting.

The UN Security Council vetoed one and voted against another draft resolution on Venezuela.

The vote took place a day after the UN political chief Rosemary DiCarlo briefed the Council on the escalating crisis gripping the South American country.. She reported that according to Colombian migration authorities, at least 285 individuals were injured on the Colombian side and the UN human rights office confirmed four deaths and 64 injuries on the Brazilian border following violent incidents at different points along the borders with Brazil and Colombia, as the Venezuelan security forces blocked the aid supplies coming into the country over the weekend.

Two draft resolutions, tabled by the United States and the Russian Federation respectively, were turned down by the Council – the US draft was vetoed by the permanent members Russia and China, while the Russian proposal failed to gather needed majority of votes.

Speaking after the vote on the US draft, Elliott Abrams, U.S. Special Representative for Venezuela said, “by voting against this resolution, some members of this Council continue to shield Maduro and his cronies and prolong the suffering of the Venezuelan people.”

Abrams also said, “this man-made crisis has extended well beyond Venezuela’s borders and threatens to destabilize the region” and that the US “will remain steadfast in our support for the legitimate Guaido government and the National Assembly.”

The US diplomat also said, “we look forward to genuinely free and fair elections and to a government that reflects the will and aspirations of the Venezuelan people” and promised that the US will pursue “all avenues to increase humanitarian assistance to Venezuelans both inside and outside their country.”

For his part Vassily Nebenzia, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations said, “we were forced to use the veto because the US draft was not geared towards resolving the problems in Venezuela.”

The Russian explained that “for this reason, we proposed an alternative draft resolution that could have helped to the Venezuelan people to independently, without a foreign intervention resolve their problems.”

Accusing the United States for “trying to wage an indirect and mercenary war with armed irregular groups” the Venezuelan ambassador to the UN, Samuel Moncada, demanded “from this Security Council, a clear pronouncement condemning and prohibiting the use of military force in all its forms and ways against Venezuela.”

Expressing his frustration with the deadlock of the Council, Diam Triansyah Djani, Permanent Representative of Indonesia to the United Nations said “this is undoubtedly a collective failure. A failure of us fifteen that are seated at this table. Because we all came here today knowing that we will not reach the needed consensus for the adoption of a resolution.”

After abstaining from the vote on both resolution, the Indonesian ambassador summarized his vote: “Both draft resolutions are incomplete, as they are not comprehensive enough and have become overly politicized. Thus, both drafts would neither be useful nor helpful to the cause of insuring the interest of the people of Venezuela.”

Nine countries voted in favour of the US resolution (US, UK, France, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Peru, Kuwait and the Dominican Republic), while three (the Russian Federation, China and South Africa) voted against. Another three (Indonesia, Cote d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea) abstained.

Four countries (Russian Federation, China, Equatorial Guinea and South Africa) voted for the Russian draft which was turned down by seven others (Germany, Poland, Peru, France, Belgium, UK and US) while another four (Indonesia, Cote d’Ivoire, Dominican Republic and Kuwait) abstained.

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