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On Thursday, 30 January, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Saeima adopted a resolution in support of the National Assembly of Venezuela, affirming that Latvia recognises the National Assembly of Venezuela as the only lawful and democratically elected legislative authority of Venezuela.

The Foreign Affairs Committee refers to the Notice of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to which Latvia recognises Juan Guaidó, President of the National Assembly of Venezuela, as interim President of Venezuela and calls for democratic processes in Venezuela to be resumed without delay.

The Committee strongly condemns the attempts of parliamentary coup carried out by Nicolás Maduro's regime and its supporters as well as their efforts to prevent the National Assembly, the only lawful and democratically elected authority of Venezuela, from successfully performing its mandate within the constitutional powers vested in it by the people of Venezuela.

In the resolution, the Foreign Affairs Committee emphasises the need to protect the independence and rights of the National Assembly, as well as the rights and safety of each MP. The Committee condemns the repeated violations of human rights and basic freedoms against the members of the legislative authority of Venezuela and supports their efforts to overcome the humanitarian and democratic crisis in Venezuela. 

"In such circumstances, the international community cannot remain silent; on the contrary, it must explicitly support the rule of law, democracy and human rights as fundamental values. Furthermore, strict and decisive measures must be taken against undemocratic regimes responsible for human rights violations and repressions so that the unacceptable does not become normalised. Repressive regimes and their representatives must be made aware of the sanctions that can be imposed against them and of the responsibility they will inevitably have to assume for any violations. With this resolution, we call greater attention to the need to find a peaceful and democratic solution through political dialogue,” said Rihards Kols, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, emphasising that it is the moral duty of democratic states to maintain the pressure from the international community on Maduro's regime. 

The Foreign Affairs Committee calls on the EU and the International Contact Group to continue the active work aimed at promoting the restoration of political dialogue in Venezuela and encourages the countries that have not yet done so to recognise the legal authority of Juan Guaidó, President of the National Assembly, and to show their support to the restoration of democracy and the rule of law in Venezuela.

Saeima Press Service