The main role of the UN Security Council is to maintain international peace and security. We well know that this function has not always been fulfilled and the consequences have been terrible for many in the world. Ecuador, today one of its non-permanent members, has flagrantly violated one of the oldest norms of international law: the inviolability of an embassy. It should be remembered that the country holds the position for two years and has been elected with the votes of the Latin American and Caribbean group (GRULAC). The call for the urgent meeting held by the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) to discuss the events of April 5 in Quito is no surprise.
“The mission premises are inviolable.” This is established by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961, which declared a norm that already existed customarily. It is based on the fact that sovereign States have privileges and immunities in their representations in the territory of other States for the proper functioning of their mission. Therefore, there is nothing to justify the accrediting State, in this case Ecuador, violating this rule and entering the embassy without authorization from the accredited State (Mexico). Not even the quality, the criminal record, the accusations made against a person who is forcibly removed from a diplomatic facility are justification. On this there are rulings of the International Court of Justice, doctrine and long practice, added to an obligation born of custom and international treaties.
What Ecuador has done cannot be allowed to set a precedent in international relations. That is why one would have expected a quicker, clearer and stronger condemnation from States and international organizations. This is not a question of right or left. It is a matter of International Law. A reversal in this sense can bring consequences that further aggravate the crisis of the international system that we are experiencing. However, President Andrés Manuel López also violated a traditional doctrine of International Law, the prohibition of meddling in the internal affairs of other States. This does not authorize Ecuador to ignore the rules of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. The art. 27 of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties clearly establishes that no State may invoke rules of its domestic law to justify non-compliance with a treaty (or any international norm). International Law takes precedence over internal rights. Pacta sunt servandathe agreement is binding and must be fulfilled in good faith.
The right of asylum is one of the long-standing and very important international institutions, especially for Latin America. A preponderant factor for this to work and save lives, as has happened in many dictatorships in the world, is the inviolability of diplomatic premises. Let's remember three examples. Julien Assange spent seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. He was under an international arrest warrant issued by the governments of Sweden and the United States. The United Kingdom never ordered Scotland Yard to go in to arrest him. He waited for Ecuadorian authorization to proceed with his arrest. The second case is that of Leopoldo López when he was declared a “guest” of Spain upon entering the residence of the ambassador of this country in Caracas. Even a dictator like Nicolás Maduro did not dare to order the inviolability of the residence of the Spanish ambassador to be ignored. It was political negotiations that allowed López to leave Venezuela. In Chile, after the coup d'état, many persecuted by the regime found asylum in foreign embassies, mainly Latin American and European. That saved their lives. Nor did Augusto Pinochet have military forces enter diplomatic compounds to arrest dissidents of the dictatorship.
What happened is very serious. The breaking of diplomatic relations between two Latin American countries not only strains their bilateral ties, but also has effects on the region and the world. If it is about fighting together against drug trafficking, organized crime and its dire consequences, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has just given his Mexican counterpart, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the opportunity to cut the bridges necessary for the necessary cooperation. This at a time when organized crime is a scourge that threatens Latin America and has direct consequences on the population, especially the most vulnerable sectors. Let's not allow it. Let us not further weaken the international system. Different sides are putting it to the test.
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