International Criminal Court's Pre-Trial Chamber Recognizes Venezuela's Proactive Conduct

On July 2, the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC), based in The Hague, Netherlands, acknowledged that Venezuela has maintained a proactive attitude during the preliminary examination being carried out by the Prosecutor’s Office, and urged the organization to “maintain a meaningful dialogue” with Venezuela, reported the Attorney General of the Bolivarian Republic, Tarek William Saab.

The statement issued by the Venezuelan Attorney General’s Office noted that the Pre-Trial Chamber requested the ICC Prosecutor’s Office “maintain a meaningful dialogue with Venezuela, reject new requests, and ask the Prosecutor’s Office (ICC) to put an end to the practice of submitting new applications in response to a specific motions.”

#COMUNICADO… la SALA DE CUESTIONES PRELIMINARES de la @IntlCrimCourt reconoce la #PROACTIVIDAD DE VENEZUELA 🇻🇪 frente al Examen Preliminar.- E insta a la Fiscalia de la CPI a entablar un #DÍALOGO productivo con nuestro país #DDHH pic.twitter.com/s4Q14g5CEC
— Tarek William Saab (@TarekWiliamSaab) July 6, 2021

The statement of Venezuela’s Public Ministry reiterated the willingness of the Venezuelan authorities to continue collaborating with the Court, and recommended the full reading of resolution No. ICC-02/18, available on the ICC web portal, in the interests of transparency and to prevent the “manipulation of information” regarding the process.

In the ICC’s statement, issued on July 2, the “Chamber stressed that it was undisputed that Venezuela was being forthcoming in providing fruitful cooperation with the Court, a course that was ‘deeply appreciat[ed]’ by the Prosecution.”

In 2018, six countries from the Lima Group, whose members have actively participated in the attempted overthrow of the Government of President Nicolás Maduro, filed complaints with the ICC for alleged crimes against humanity committed by Venezuela’s security forces during the violent protests known as guarimbas in 2017. Those countries include Canada, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, and Peru. In May 2021 Argentina withdrew its claim from the case.

The case was admitted and, according to what was reported by Attorney General Tarek William Saab, the preliminary examination has not only advanced with unusual rapidity when compared to those of Colombia or the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but in addition, the ICC Prosecutor’s Office, headed by Fatou Bensouda until June 15, has often been uncooperative with Venezuelan authorities.

Featured image: International Criminal Court (ICC) headquarters in Geneva. File photo.

(La IguanaTV) with Orinoco Tribune content

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/JRE/SL