Venezuela was expelled from the United Nations’ main human rights body on Tuesday after a vote at the United Nations favored Costa Rica and Chile to fill two seats the three countries were vying for.
Venezuela won a seat on the UN Human Rights Council in 2019 and hoped to keep it after an election on Tuesday among the 193 UN member states representing Latin America, but only two seats were vacant, with Costa Rica and Chile winning on Tuesday.
Chile’s candidacy received 144 votes, Costa Rica’s 134 and Venezuela’s 88 in the UN General Assembly elections. A total of 14 new members were elected to the Human Rights Council, which is based in Geneva and is made up of 47 nations.
Numerous human rights groups had called in the days leading up to the vote for Venezuela not to be elected because they believe Nicolás Maduro’s government has a history of oppression.
“The brutal attack on opponents in Venezuela means the country lacks the necessary qualifications to sit on the highest UN legal body,” said Louis Charbonneau, UN director at Human Rights Watch, in a statement recently released by the organization.
A total of 17 countries have applied to fill the 14 seats on the Council for the period 2023-2025.
The UN General Assembly urges states voting to elect members of the Council to “consider the contribution of candidates to the promotion and protection of human rights”.