Islam Times - Venezuela Urges UNESCO to Defend Cultural Rights Against Sanctions

Islam Times - Venezuelan Culture Minister Ernesto Villegas urged the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to take action to safeguard peoples' cultural rights from the negative effects of other nations' sanctions on Thursday.

UNESCO should offer a "mechanism to protect the cultural rights of people, their heritage and cultural diversity, from unilateral coercive measures," otherwise known as sanctions, Villegas said during a session of the UNESCO World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development (MONDIACULT 2022), being held in Mexico City, Xinhua reported.

Sanctions can "severely" impact communities, not only in Latin America but worldwide, said Villegas.

"Those who have calculated the numbers say that half of humanity is being subjected to sanctions," he added.

Venezuela supports MONDIACULT's goal to officially recognize culture as a "global public good" in a joint declaration to be issued at the end of the conference, the official said.

The Venezuelan government has repeatedly denounced the negative impact that U.S.-imposed sanctions have had on its people, both socially and economically.