The performance of international justice in Venezuela

The opposition leader María Corina Machado hopes that international justice will act and dissuade the government of Nicolás Maduro to stop “the persecution”, something that, experts say, organizations such as the International Criminal Court (ICC) are already doing, with the warning that they are slow processes.

The former Venezuelan representative recently called on international justice to act, because in her opinion it is the “way to dissuade those who today are being pressured by Maduro to continue persecuting, torturing and murdering Venezuelans.”

Machado, who recently made this exhortation at the Free America Forum, said that “Maduro feels today that he can commit all types of abuses and crimes against humanity, and that the community’s reaction will be zero,” but – he noted – there have been ” important statements and information from human rights organizations” in this regard.

Calixto Ávila, a lawyer specializing in human rights, told Efe that for years NGOs, alleged victims, specialized jurists and international organizations have been activating international justice mechanisms to address crimes against humanity if their commission is proven.

He noted that there are two activated mechanisms: the investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the arrest warrant for Maduro and other government officials, issued by the Federal Chamber of Buenos Aires, Argentina, due to the principle of universal jurisdiction. .

«They are processes that will take time. In the case of Argentina, more than 100 investigations have been opened under universal jurisdiction and none have reached the trial stage,” explained the representative of the NGO Provea in Europe.

A coordinated international response

After the presidential elections of July 28 – in which Maduro was proclaimed the winner by the National Electoral Council (CNE), a result labeled as fraudulent by the majority opposition -, the political crisis in Venezuela worsened, which activated the alarms of international organizations, such as the United Nations or the Organization of American States, among others.

The lawyer specializing in international law Simón Gómez explained to Efe that the “severe crisis” of human rights in the country gave rise to a “coordinated response” by international protection bodies and special mechanisms have been established, he said, such as the Mission Independent Fact Finding International, whose mandate was renewed last October.

“This mission has been fundamental for the advancement of the investigation carried out by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court,” said Gómez.

In his opinion, the coordination between the mechanisms created to monitor the human rights situation has resulted in Venezuela becoming the first country in the region in which the ICC opens a formal investigation.

Documentation is “pressure”

Ávila pointed out that the permanent documentation action already means “important international pressure” on the Maduro government.

“These international organizations must continue this work and the Venezuelan State understands that this work, although it prevents the entry of the Fact Finding Mission, although it has expelled the Office of the High Commissioner, this investigative work is being built around those responsible, a spider web that at some point could lead to the establishment of responsibilities,” he said.

He added that the obligation to respect human rights in the country corresponds to the State and in the face of its “non-compliance”, international bodies have been activated.

“These entities have indeed come to act and exercise a power of persuasion over the Venezuelan State, although the authorities deny it,” he said.

Simón Gómez reiterates that international organizations have done their job of monitoring and documenting the Venezuelan situation, and indicates that with the deepening of the political crisis there is a greater demand on the actions of the ICC to “impress greater speed” and priority to the situation. of the country.