Venezuela: Overseas Aid

(asked on 14th October 2020) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the findings of the International Criminal Court into the human rights abuses of Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro; and what support the Government has provided to the Lima countries.


Answered by
Wendy Morton Portrait
Wendy Morton
This question was answered on 22nd October 2020

In September 2018, six members of the Lima Group (Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Chile, Paraguay and Peru) referred the situation in Venezuela and possible commission of crimes against humanity there to the International Criminal Court (ICC). On 27 September 2019, the Foreign Secretary announced the UK's support for the Lima Group's referral.

The Court has yet to conclude the Preliminary Examination into the situation in Venezuela. The Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) is carrying out a Preliminary Examination to determine whether the situation meets the legal criteria established by the Rome Statute to warrant investigation by the OTP. The OTP will provide an update on the Preliminary Examination in December in its annual report on Preliminary Examination Activities. We look forward to hearing about the progress the OTP has made. It would not be appropriate for the UK to comment further at this stage. The UK respects the independence of the ICC Prosecutor and her role in undertaking a Preliminary Examination into the situation in Venezuela.

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