The International Committee against Impunity in Venezuela, Ciciven, considered that the installation of an office of the International Criminal Court in Venezuela “it is a step forward” in the investigations of crimes against humanity in the country.
“The importance of this step, in a diplomatic sense and in relations with an international organization, can be measured insofar as it means the cession of sovereignty of a regime that has left the Inter-American System. who retired from the Inter-American Court of Human Rightsand that he is unaware of the measures of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights,” they said in a statement.
The committee also asked prosecutor Karim Khan to meet with the victims of the crimes, their relatives or representatives. In addition to warning about the “tactics of the Venezuelan regime to frustrate the initiatives that harm its declared intention to maintain power at all costs.”
In the brief they highlighted that both the Venezuelan criminal justice system and the Supreme Court of Justice must be accountable to the international organization.
“Ciciven’s foundational objective is to prevent impunity for serious crimes against human rights committed in Venezuela,” the organization said.
Ciciven on setting up an ICC office in the country
On the other hand, they also urged that the people who are going to give testimonies and contacts to the ICC Prosecutor’s Office have sufficient guarantees of personal security. This to avoid “being subject to retaliation by public authorities.”
In the statement, Ciciven stated that the actors that make up the chain of command act “politically” to carry out a supposed restructuring of the judicial system. This “in order to circumvent the perception of reality.”
“The recent public opinion campaigns and announcements of possible institutional adjustments only reveal the desire to make changes. Just to ensure that nothing changes. Well, many of those proposed for the charges are those who have maintained a state of impunity for more than 20 years, ”he says in the document.
Finally, Ciciven highlighted and applauded the appointment of ICC Prosecutor Khan and “his impeccable credentials for the exercise of his position. That he must be carried out with absolute autonomy and without political interference of any kind”.
