WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Rick Scott released the below statement following the decision by the United Nations Human Rights Council to include Nicolas Maduro as a speaker at its forty-sixth regular session, beginning tomorrow in Geneva.

Senator Rick Scott said, “The UN Human Rights Council has been a joke ever since its decision to allow Maduro, who is committing a genocide against the people of Venezuela, to be a member. Now, they are taking it even further and giving Maduro an open platform to spew his hate and propaganda. I travelled to Cúcuta to visit the Venezuelan border and saw the devastation firsthand. Venezuelan children walking for hours through dense forest, across rivers and over terrorist-controlled territory just to get to a school in Colombia for an education and a meal. Mothers with young children coming to Cúcuta to get the only meal they’d eat for three days. It’s horrific. The UN Human Rights Council should have the words ‘human rights’ stripped from its title, and explain its decision to the millions of Venezuelans suffering under Maduro’s regime.

“Maduro’s invitation to speak should be rescinded immediately. If not, every freedom-loving nation in attendance should walk out. In the meantime, the U.S. must closely examine our relationship with the UN. American taxpayer dollars should not be used to prop up dangerous dictators, and no more funding should go to the UN until this decision is explained.”

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