In a significant move on Friday, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) dismissed an appeal by Venezuela to halt ICC investigations into potential crimes against humanity committed by the Venezuelan government. The court reaffirmed its June 2023
decision to resume the investigations was indeed correct.
In the Appeals Chamber’s judgement, the prior assessment in the case was correct in figuring out whether Venezuela was conducting or had conducted any investigations or prosecutions of the same categories of individuals. The Chamber underlined that its previous decision revolved around the examination of high-ranking members of the State security forces and pro-government individuals associated with the relevant criminality. As a result, the ICC dismissed all six grounds of Venezuela’s appeal.
The Venezuelan government, however, renounced the ICC’s decision, arguing that it seeks to mask the truth about Venezuela and accused the ICC of implementing a political stratagem against Venezuela. Adding to her government’s statement, Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez criticized the ICC’s handling of the case by allegedly using unconfirmed intel gathered from social media, in a recent interview with local media outlets.
Rodriguez also highlighted the ICC’s inability to adequately respond to the genocide in Palestine. In her statement, she stressed, “Venezuela is saddened that, while the world watches in horror at the genocide being carried out against the Palestinian people, the International Criminal Court has chosen to spend its scarce resources on actions that clearly distort its raison d’être and undermine its credibility as an international justice body.”
The ICC’s dismissal of Venezuela’s appeal comes after Venezuela became the first Latin American country in November 2021 to face a formal ICC investigation for alleged crimes against humanity committed in 2017. The investigation is being led by British prosecutor Karim Khan. Despite a visit conducted in the same month by the ICC, President Nicolás Maduro expressed his disagreement with the opening of the investigation, clarifying that while they respect the decision to investigate, they do not agree with it.
In parallel with the decision from the ICC, protests have been going on in Venezuela demanding the release of Rocío San Miguel, a human rights activist leading an Non-Governmental Organization. She has been detained due to alleged participation in a conspiracy to assassinate Maduro. Her detention has been deemed as a possible enforced disappearance by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, causing the suspension of its activities in Venezuela.
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