In a statement to the media, Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez read out a letter sent to the UN High Commissioner, with the purpose of requesting her active participation in a broad investigation into the systematic and intentional deprivation of fundamental rights of Venezuelans in Colombia.
The vice president stressed that such human rights violations are potential crimes against humanity, for which she urged Bachelet to undertake investigations leading to the cessation of hate crimes against Venezuelan migrants in Colombia.
Rodriguez recalled that the most recent example of episodes of violence and xenophobia against the Venezuelan population in the neighboring country occurred on Friday, October 8, 2021 in the town of Tibu, Norte de Santander department, where two young men were murdered.
Moreover, the official cited data from the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences of Colombia, according to which between 2017 and 2020 more than 2,000 people from Venezuela were violently killed in Colombia.
Given this scenario, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez urged the office of the UN High Commissioner to demand the Colombian State to comply with its obligations to protect the human rights of migrants within its territory, regardless of their nationality or migratory status.
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