December - In recent days, four experts from the United Nations presented a report showing that the partial maritime blockade imposed by the United States on Venezuela violates fundamental rules of International Law.
A press release from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights states that the specialists' conclusion is that "there is no right to impose unilateral sanctions through an armed blockade."
The grouping of military vessels from the northern country off the coast of Venezuela and their use to intercept oil tankers and prevent the trade of Venezuelan hydrocarbons was described in the document as a "serious use of force, expressly recognized as illegal armed aggression in the Definition of Aggression adopted by the General Assembly in 1974."
Therefore, according to the statement, "this constitutes an armed attack under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, which in principle grants the victim state the right to legitimate defense."
The same ruling also refers to the fact that "the highest government leaders enjoy immunity from foreign criminal proceedings while in office."
Clearly, this also constitutes a condemnation of the threats by the U.S. administration against Venezuela’s legitimate president, Nicolás Maduro Moros, whom, while the United States was trying to better hide its true interests by positioning part of its navy in the Caribbean Sea, it accused of being linked to drug trafficking and even, in a complete breach of international norms, put a bounty on his head.
In this regard, the experts noted that "there are serious concerns that the sanctions are illegal, disproportionate, and punitive under International Law, and that they have seriously undermined the human rights of the Venezuelan people and the Sustainable Development Goals."
Another aspect condemned by the statement is the killing at sea of more than 100 people, who posed no threat to the powerful forces that ended their lives.
"These killings constitute violations of the right to life and must be investigated, and those responsible brought to justice," the experts asserted, who also urged the United States Congress to intervene to prevent further attacks and lift the blockade.
And as a harsh blow to the inexperienced in diplomatic matters, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the experts insisted on the urgency for states to adopt all possible measures to end the blockade and the illegal executions. The statement from the said office also proposes diplomatic protests, resolutions from the General Assembly, and peaceful countermeasures, as well as ensuring that those responsible are held accountable before the law.
(Taken from CubaSí)
