International Criminal Court headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands. File photo
Thursday, July 15, Venezuelan Minister for Foreign Affairs Jorge Arreaza considered that Washington now recognizes the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) after Ambassador James Story sponsored an activity in which ICC prosecutor Karim Khan participated.
“A good sign that the US, through @usembassyve [James Story], recognizes the International Criminal Court and its jurisdiction, because there its officials will be investigated and tried for crimes against humanity derived from the illegal sanctions against #Venezuela,” Arreaza wrote on his Twitter account.
The activity organized by the virtual US ambassador to Venezuela with an office in Bogotá, James Story, in addition to being unusual due to the current non-recognition by the United States of the Statute of Rome that created the ICC, seemingly constituted an attempt by the US to put pressure on the ICC to encourage a rapid decision of the court on the Venezuela I case opened by Lima Country governments against President Maduro’s administration, alleging human rights violations.
Buena señal que EEUU, a travĂ©s de @usembassyve, reconozca a la Corte Penal Internacional y su competencia, pues allĂ serán investigados y juzgados sus funcionarios por crĂmenes de lesa humanidad derivados de las sanciones ilegales contra #Venezuela. https://t.co/MdF2OJ1bxS
— Jorge Arreaza M (@jaarreaza) July 15, 2021
In February 2020, before the ICC, the government of Venezuela denounced the unilateral coercive measures imposed by the United States against the Venezuelan people since 2014, and formally requested the initiation of an investigation into crimes against humanity resulting from the US blockade’s harm to the Venezuelan population and the Venezuelan state. This case was labeled Venezuela II by the ICC.
On that occasion, Arreaza, who reiterated that the measures are aimed at creating the conditions for a change of government by force, explained that the lawsuit is aimed at those who govern in the White House, as the main party responsible for the violations of the human rights of Venezuelan citizens.
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This year, Venezuela’s Public Ministry has been providing information to the International Criminal Court on the violent acts perpetrated in the nation by extremist opposition factors supported by the United States.
It is appropriate to recall that the United States opposes the investigation being carried out by the International Criminal Court into the responsibility of the US military and members of the CIA for war crimes committed in Afghanistan.
For this reason, last year the government of former President Donald Trump imposed sanctions against the then-prosecutor of the international court, Fatou Bensouda, and it restricted the issuing of visas for workers from the ICC Prosecutor’s Office working on the case.
The Court assured that the “coercive acts” of the United States “constitute serious attacks against the ICC, the international criminal justice system of the Rome Statute and the rule of law in general.”
Featured image: International Criminal Court headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands. File photo
(RedRadioVE) by Aurig Hernandez, with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SL
