Venezuela's Maduro to address UN rights council
What you need to know:
- "It is confirmed that he is addressing the council on Monday," UN spokesman Rolando Gomez told AFP, making clear that the Venezuelan leader will travel to the Swiss city and appear in person before the UN's top rights body.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who is accused of dismantling his nation's democracy, will address the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva next week, a council spokesman said Monday.
"It is confirmed that he is addressing the council on Monday," UN spokesman Rolando Gomez told AFP, making clear that the Venezuelan leader will travel to the Swiss city and appear in person before the UN's top rights body.
International powers accuse Maduro of taking over state institutions in order to resist opposition pressure for him to quit, amid an economic crisis that has caused shortages of food and medicine.
UN rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said last week that democracy in the country was "barely alive".
Maduro appeared at the council in November 2015, triggering fierce criticism from rights activists.
Some rights council sessions include a so-called "interactive dialogue", during which nations and activists can pose questions to visiting dignitaries.
Gomez indicated there was unlikely to be any such interaction during Maduro's visit.
Venezuela currently holds a seat on the 47-member rights council.
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© Agence France-Presse
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