Outside of these consensuses was the proposal of the Colombian president Gustavo Petro, expressed at the beginning of the summit in Bogotá, to guide Venezuela to re-enter the Inter-American System, which he considered “would be a great achievement.”
He Colombian Foreign Minister Álvaro Leyva reported on the afternoon of this Tuesday, April 25, the consensus of the international summit, which was held in Bogotá, to explore the Venezuelan political situation. In a brief statement, the 20 countries expressed the need to establish a schedule for “free and transparent elections,” as well as the lifting of sanctions against Venezuela.
In less than two minutes and without allowing questions to the press, the Colombian foreign minister indicated that “common positions” of the 20 delegations on these issues were identified. In addition, they agreed that the continuation of the negotiation between Venezuelan political factors, paralyzed since November 2022 and mediated by the Kingdom of Norway, must be accompanied “with the acceleration of the implementation of the Social Fund.”
Declaration on the International Conference on the political process in Venezuela https://t.co/kfGHnHQHvu
– Colombia Foreign Ministry (@CancilleriaCol) April 25, 2023
Regarding the electoral calendar, it was explained that the elections must generate “full guarantees for all Venezuelan actors”, and also take into account the recommendations of the Electoral Observation Mission (MOE) of the European Union of 2021, a question on which the European bloc has insisted to the administration of Nicolás Maduro.
Said MOE report consists of 23 recommendations to the National Electoral Council (CNE) that “point to improvements in the process and the strengthening of institutions,” among them, the separation of powers of the State, particularly the Judiciary; reinforce the sanctioning capacity of the Venezuelan National Electoral Council and the repeal of the so-called Law against Hate.
Foreign Minister Leyva also mentioned that the delegations of these 20 countries will be convened, without specifying a date, in order to follow up on the development of what was achieved in this first summit.
Outside these consensuses was the proposal of the Colombian president Gustavo Petro, expressed to the start of the summitto guide Venezuela to re-enter the inter-American system, which he considered “would be a great achievement.”
The human rights situation, especially the release of political prisoners and the fight against impunity, was not part of the agreements reached either, despite the requests made by non-governmental organizations from Venezuela and other countries.
*Read also: Amnesty International: There can be no Venezuelan dialogue conditional on impunity
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