The departure of Edmundo González is clearly not the end of the crisis

The departure of the Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González at the weekend and his arrival in Spain as an exile “It is clearly not the end of the crisis” in Venezuelasaid UN Secretary-General’s spokesman Stéphane Dujarric on Monday.

The UN remains “very concerned about the situation in Venezuela” following the crisis triggered by the controversial elections of 28 July, and calls on the authorities to “fully protect human rights”, Dujarric said at his daily press conference.

The spokesman also referred to the siege suffered by the Embassy of Argentina in Caracaswhere six opposition leaders are sheltering – with water and electricity restrictions – and recalled that there is a principle of inviolability of diplomatic and consular headquarters that is universal.

“It must be respected at all times, in all cases and in all places in the world,” he recalled, and directly urged the Venezuelan government to “deal with this matter in full compliance with the law”.

The UN insists on dialogue

Dujarric again urged that the crisis be resolved through dialogue, but when asked about the difficulty of maintaining such dialogue with such radically opposed positions, he insisted that “We have to continue believing that it is necessary”.

He said the UN was not involved in any dialogue process, a phrase he has used on other occasions.

The UN sent a panel of electoral experts to Venezuela to monitor the July elections, and although their findings are usually confidential to the secretary-general, in this case they were made public and said the elections did not meet the required standards of transparency.

In response, the National Electoral Council, an organization almost monopolized by those close to the Venezuelan government, described the experts’ report as “illegal, contrary to the principles of the UN, violating the Terms of Reference agreed with this Constitutional Power and, above all, riddled with lies and contradictions.”

Since then, the relationship between Venezuela and the UN has been at its lowest point.