PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC—The President of the United Nations Normal Meeting (UNGA), Dennis Francis, has left open the potential for the worldwide physique taking part in a job in diffusing the state of affairs in Venezuela, the place President Nicolas Maduro was declared the winner of the presidential election late final month.
The opposition events have accused Maduro of stealing the July 28 ballot and disputed the figures launched by the Nationwide Electoral Council (CNE).
The opposition events are supported by the US and a number of other Western international locations, whereas Muduro has obtained congratulations from China, Russia, Iran, Cuba, Honduras, Nicaragua, Bolivia, and a few Caribbean Group (CARICOM) international locations.
Francis, who can also be the Trinidad and Tobago ambassador to the United Nations, instructed reporters on his arrival right here for a four-day go to that in diplomacy, there may be at all times hope.
“That’s what diplomacy is—dialogue. When folks sit down and discuss, you may by no means predict a priori (beforehand) the place the dialogue will go,” mentioned Francis, who shall be changed as UNGA president by Philemon Yang of Cameroon, who will develop into the 79th UNGA president in six weeks.
“On the UN, hope is at all times one thing that’s in our consciousness as a result of dialogue can resolve conflicts. We’ve seen that over and over. And the hope is that dialogue will happen.”
When explicitly requested if the UN may play a job in facilitating dialogue to resolve the Venezuela disaster, Francis replied, “Completely.
“That’s a part of the UN’s mandate. The place there may be battle, the UN assists and helps, generally offers good places of work, generally offers mediation, however it additionally will get the events collectively across the tables to allow them to confront the problems brazenly and albeit and are available to some widespread understanding as to how they are often resolved.
“Something that promotes peace is what the UN does and can assist,” he mentioned, including that “there may be by no means per se a time as a result of each battle is completely different” as as to if the UN was contemplating any timeline to get the events to sit down down and discuss.
“Typically what is feasible in a single area is just not potential in others. So, it’s not the timeline. It’s the second. It’s recognising when it will be acceptable for that dialogue to happen. In fact, the dialogue won’t occur except all events concerned within the battle – each events – agree.”
Francis instructed reporters that any electoral state of affairs that ends in uncertainty, doubt, claims of impropriety, and fraud “is a matter of concern as a result of the UN strongly promotes and helps the precept of democracy. It’s the will of the folks that should at all times prevail.
“I can not say this example in Venezuela is with out concern. It has not but come frontally to the desk of the UN,” he added. Francis instructed reporters that whereas “it’s at all times a pleasure coming dwelling, “it’s a specific pleasure on this event.”
He wouldn’t choose his tenure because the UNGA President for the previous 12 months, saying others finest answered that query.
“I can’t assess myself. I imply, I can, however I shouldn’t. In fact, everybody needs to succeed, in order that query is finest posed to others. To the extent that the work is being performed and has been performed, it has been uneventful.
“Uneventful within the sense that nothing disruptive (has occurred) to undermine the efficiency of the workplace of the president of the Normal Meeting. So, to that extent, it has been with out accident.”
The Ministry of Overseas and CARICOM Affairs, which ends its official go to on Wednesday, pays courtesy calls on the Performing President of Trinidad and Tobago, Nigel de Freitas, Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley, and meet with Overseas and CARICOM Affairs Minister Dr. Amery Browne.
Earlier than his departure, he can even go to the Woodbrook Secondary Faculty, his Alma Mater.
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