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The investigation agreed on December 3, 2021 by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, on crimes against humanity committed in Venezuela during the government of Nicolás Maduro, is paralyzed in the Preliminary Chamber of the international institution, whose advisory body appointed as rapporteur the Mexican judge María del Socorro Flores, denounced this Tuesday Walter Márquez, president of the El Amparo Foundation and general director of the International Committee against Impunity in Venezuela (Ciciven).
Márquez recalled that on April 21, 2022, Prosecutor Khan received a request from the Venezuelan regime to defer the case. However, he assumed the continuity of the investigation and asked Chamber 1 of Preliminary Matters to fix a position on whether he could continue. However, he has not received a response and that is why the Venezuelan process is paralyzed.
ICC investigation of Venezuela is stalled
“A reasonable period of time has elapsed for her (Preliminary Chamber 1) to present the report and for the chamber to decide on the appeal. On behalf of the victims, we urge her to comply with this reasonable time period,” said Márquez.
He insisted that they be carried out under “the criteria established in resolution 60/147 of December 2005 of the United Nations, regarding the right of the victims to a prompt, effective, complete and efficient investigation. Even more so when the United Nations Human Rights Council has just ratified the International Independent Fact-Finding Mission for the Verification of Facts.”
The human rights activist considers it important that the documentary information gathered by the UN mission be incorporated into the ICC investigation.
“There is currently a double victimization of many citizens. One for being victims of the repression of the Maduro regime, and the other for being victims of the procedural delay at the International Criminal Court. On behalf of many of the victims that I represent, we demand procedural celerity so that there is justice in The Hague,” he added.
