The International Criminal Court (ICC) will open a formal investigation into the human rights violations of the Nicolás Maduro regime “To establish the truth in accordance with the Rome Statute, following the visit of the high court prosecutor, Karim Khan.”
The ICC prosecutor concluded the preliminary examination of the situation in Venezuela and has determined that an investigation should be opened to establish the truth in accordance with the Rome Statute, ”according to a memorandum of understanding signed with Venezuela and read before Khan and to the dictator Nicolás Maduro.
The text indicates that Venezuela “interprets that the requirements of Article 53 of the Rome Statute are not met to justify the passage from the preliminary examination phase to the investigation phase.” Said article states that “the prosecutor, after evaluating the information available to him, will initiate an investigation unless he determines that there is no reasonable basis to proceed with it under the present (Rome) Statute.”
Faced with this situation, the Chavista regime “Considers that complaints should be investigated in the country by existing national institutions created for this purpose”explains the memo.
The document signed by Khan and Maduro also states that in the preliminary phase “no suspect or target has been identified and that The purpose of the investigation is to determine the truth and whether or not there are grounds to file charges against someone ”.
In this sense, the parties agreed that Venezuela, as a national jurisdiction, “will adopt all the necessary measures to ensure the effective administration of justice, in accordance with international standards, with the support and active commitment of the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. by virtue of the principle of complementarity ”.
Also “establish mechanisms to improve cooperation between the parties and facilitate the effective performance of the prosecutor’s mandate” in Venezuela.
In addition, they have chosen to “strive to agree on means and mechanisms that effectively contribute to the efforts of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to carry out authentic national actions.” Finally, they agreed to “work so that the principle of complementarity has an adequate and significant effect.”
“We are guided by the principles of legality and the rule of law, and I will ask everyone that as we move into this new phase, to give my office the necessary space to carry out its work,” said the British magistrate, who this Wednesday concluded his three-day visit to Venezuela.
“The preliminary examination that opened in 2018 is nothing more than a screening phase. As we move forward we enter a new phase “added.
Khan signed a memorandum of understanding at the Miraflores Palace with the dictator Maduro, who spoke out against the prosecutor’s decision to advance the investigation into a new phase. “The Prosecutor has decided to go to the next phase, we do not agree with that decision. However, we respect it “, indicated the Chavista president.
“I am pleased that through the letters we have just signed, we are committed to working collaboratively and independently (…) It has been about three days of a lot of work, of frank and open debate. A constructive dialogue ”, commented Khan, who indicated that“ any just person should applaud and work, with all those who wish to raise the flag of justice ”.
“To those who are watching, my office will always work in accordance with the Rome Statute, I am aware of the flaws in Venezuela, and the geopolitical divisions, but we are not political,” he said.
The former prosecutor Fatou bensouda advanced in November of last year that there were “reasonable grounds to believe” that crimes against humanity were committed but, after his departure, the case has been left to Khan, who must make the final decision.
Bensouda left his post at the ICC on June 15 of this year and in his last report he indicated that there is “a reasonable basis” to believe that “crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court have been committed at least since 2017.”
In her last days, the Gambian lawyer expressed that intended to request a formal investigation into the crimes committed by the forces of the Nicolás Maduro regime in Venezuela, but which was prevented at the last minute after Caracas asked the judges to take control of the case.
“With regard to Venezuela, I had committed myself to reaching a final determination, to the extent possible, for the remainder of my term. Perhaps in anticipation of that result, as you will have seen in the media, an ICC chamber received a file from the Government of Venezuela requesting the Chamber to exercise judicial control over the conduct of our preliminary examination. This was presented confidentially, so I cannot refer to them in detail, although the fact of their presentation has been publicly mentioned by the Venezuelan authorities themselves, ”wrote Bensouda, a farewell letter.
In the letter, the chief prosecutor of the ICC says that she had reached a final conclusion on the investigation and that she was prepared to present it, but that with the appeal presented by the Maduro regime, she has decided to await the decision of the courtroom. CPI before making any announcement.
The ICC has been holding a preliminary examination of Venezuela since February 2018 for alleged abuses of its security forces, both in the demonstrations that took place since April 2017 and in some prisons where opponents have been mistreated.
With information from EFE
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