The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, Unicef asked the politicians running for the polemical December 6 vote not to “instrumentalize the humanitarian aid distributed in Venezuela.”
The warning of Unicef came only hours after the opposition denounced that candidates from the Chavista party PSUV were using humanitarian aid in their campaigns for a seat in the National Assembly.
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Already, the United States and the European Union have said that the December 6 vote with which the Nicolas Maduro regime plans to install a new National Assembly will be unfair and have promised not to recognize the result.
The current National Assembly is more than two-thirds opposition, but Maduro has used the Supreme Court to impede its action and gut it of its powers. Lawmakers have been arrested without a previous merit trial as mandated by the Venezuelan law.
Pictures posted to Twitter and other social media show the PSUV candidates not only utilizing minors for political purposes (something expressly forbidden in Venezuelan law) but also handing out aid marked Unicef. The material includes shoes, toys, and school material.
“Unicef works based on the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality, independence, and humanity. The supplies and support we offer in the country are free and should not be used for purposes other than the care of children and their families,” the agency stated on Twitter.
National Assembly lawmaker Carlos Valero was amongst the first to denounce the PSUV-Unicef situation on Tuesday and alerted the United Nations Organization (UNO) and Unicef.
