The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights called on the Venezuelan state this Monday to advance in the lifting of restrictions on dozens of media outlets and to guarantee freedom of expression and access to information, amid the political reconciliation process promoted by the interim government of Delcy Rodríguez.
The statement came on the eve of the start of the 81st UN General Assembly in New York and hours after Rodríguez's arrival in the United States to participate in the annual meeting of international leaders. The interim president arrived early in the morning at Teterboro Airport, in New Jersey, and is scheduled to address the Assembly on Thursday.
The office led by High Commissioner Volker Türk valued the recent unblocking of some websites announced by Venezuelan authorities, although it warned that many restricted portals remain.
''The recent decision by the Government to unblock several websites is an important step in the right direction,'' the UN agency stated. At the same time, Türk urged to adopt new measures to reopen other blocked sites and reiterated its recommendations for Venezuelan authorities to end restrictions on freedom of expression and access to information.
The UN requested Venezuela to lift all restrictions on the media
The UN's call comes after the interim government announced the elimination of some restrictions against national and international media. The decision was presented as part of a reconciliation process aimed at changing the political conditions that marked the last years of Chavismo.
Rodríguez replaced the dictator Nicolás Maduro in January and her presence at the General Assembly represents the return of a Venezuelan authority to the main international diplomatic forum after several years of remote interventions. Maduro personally participated in the 2018 Assembly, while in 2019 Rodríguez represented the Venezuelan state. In 2020 and 2021, Maduro sent recorded messages.
The current context is also marked by the detention of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who are being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, about 30 minutes from the UN headquarters where Delcy Rodríguez will deliver her speech.
Delcy Rodríguez will deliver her speech before the United Nations upon her return to the General Assembly and will hold a meeting with Donald Trump
The blockade continues in much of Venezuela
The Venezuelan organization Espacio Público conducted monitoring in recent days to verify the extent of the unblocking announced by the authorities. According to their assessment, some media regained access, but restrictions remain in place for most of the sites that had been censored.
The NGO also identified a situation it described as concerning: several portals experienced greater access difficulties after the government announcement. The monitoring included digital media and independent organizations affected by the restrictions.
During the early hours of Thursday, various telephone and internet providers began to allow access again to some blocked sites. However, as hours passed, several companies reinstated the restrictions they had previously applied.
The dictator Nicolás Maduro is detained just half an hour from the United Nations headquarters
Among the providers mentioned by Espacio Público are CANTV, Movistar, Digitel, Inter, Netuno, Airtek, and G-Network. The situation reflects that the official announcement has not yet translated into a widespread lifting of digital censorship.
The UN's call thus comes at a key moment for the new Venezuelan government. While Delcy Rodríguez seeks to project an image of openness and reconciliation to the international community, human rights organizations maintain that significant obstacles to the exercise of press freedom and citizens' access to independent information persist.
