CARACAS, July 17, 2025 (WAFA) – Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro met with the Palestinian delegation participating in the 35th edition of the International Poetry Festival, currently taking place in the capital, Caracas.

For the first time in the festival's history, Palestine was honored as the guest of honor — a symbolic gesture met with a warm and exclusive meeting with President Maduro.

During the meeting, President Maduro reaffirmed the centrality of the Palestinian cause and emphasized the urgent need for an international peace conference for Palestine. 

He revealed that he had sent an official message to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, urging the international body to break its silence and take immediate action to stop what he described as a genocide in Gaza, and to halt the daily crimes committed by the Israeli occupation.

Maduro praised Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories, describing her as "courageous." He highlighted her reports as "backed by irrefutable evidence" of the atrocities committed against the Palestinian people.

In recognition of his steadfast support, Palestinian officials — including Fadi Al-Zaben, Ambassador of the State of Palestine to Venezuela; Murad Al-Sudani, Secretary-General of the General Union of Palestinian Writers and Authors; and Naji Al-Naji, Cultural Advisor at the Palestinian Embassy in Egypt — presented President Maduro with a formal tribute.

M.N