THE HAGUE.- Mexico demanded before the International Court of Justice (ICJ)highest organ of the HIM, that repercussions be imposed after the invasion of its embassy in Ecuador, calling the incident a serious threat to international relations. The Mexican agent, Alejandro Celoriostated that the violent entry into the embassy and the attack against its diplomatic staff must have legal consequences.
The assault on the embassy, according to Celorio, represents a serious violation of international law and generates global concern. “There are lines in international law that should not be crossed. Unfortunately, the Republic of Ecuador has transferred them,” he said before the ICJ.
The case arises after the raid by Ecuadorian security forces on the Mexican embassy in Quito on April 5, where they forcibly took away former Ecuadorian vice president Jorge Glas, who had been granted asylum by Mexico.
Ecuador claims that Glas was wanted for corruption convictions and not for political reasons, and alleged that Mexico’s granting of asylum to a convicted criminal was itself a violation of the Vienna Convention.
But Celorio stated Tuesday that “there is no rule of international law that can annul the inviolability of the Mexican embassy nor any rule according to which the assault can be classified as a legal operation.”
Mexico raised the case to the ICJ, seeking the temporary suspension of Ecuadorian membership in the UN and demanding a public apology from the Ecuadorian authorities. In addition, it requests protection measures for its embassy and its staff.
Ecuador, for its part, filed a lawsuit with the court on Monday in which it accuses Mexico of using its embassy to protect Glas from “Ecuador’s application of criminal law” and alleged that its actions “constituted, among other things, a flagrant misuse of the facilities of a diplomatic mission.”
In addition, it asked the ICJ to determine that Mexico’s actions breached a series of international conventions. At the moment there was no date for the hearing of the case presented by Ecuador.
Source: With information from AFP and AP
