Mexico initiates legal action against Ecuador over embassy raid, seeks UN suspension
Mexico files case at International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague to initiate legal action against Ecuador following the storming of its embassy in Quito
Following the storming of its embassy in Quito, Mexico filed a case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague to commence legal action against Ecuador on Thursday. Alicia Barcena, the foreign minister, revealed the case during a news conference. She said that Mexico wants Ecuador to be suspended from the UN unless it issues a public apology for breaking international law. Barcena underlined the goal of obtaining restitution for the moral harm done to Mexico and her people.
The former vice president of Ecuador, Jorge Glas, who had been given shelter by Mexico, was the target of the embassy intrusion, which happened when security personnel attacked the diplomatic facilities. Mexico severed diplomatic relations with Ecuador and withdrew its diplomats from the nation in response to the detention, which was requested on suspicion of corruption.
The goal of the case, as highlighted by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, is to protect international law and stop occurrences of this nature from happening elsewhere. Rafael Correa, Jorge Glas’s supporter and former president, has revealed that the man has started a hunger strike as he is being held in a maximum-security institution in Guayaquil.
According to social media posts, Correa, who is presently living in Belgium in order to avoid serving an eight-year term in Ecuador for corruption, claimed that Glas’s hospitalization after the hunger strike was an attempt at suicide. In 2016, Glas was accused of embezzlement once more in connection with monies that were taken and used for disaster relief.
A number of countries, including Mexico, several Latin American countries, Spain, the United States, the European Union, and the UN secretary-general, denounced the embassy breach, alleging breaches of the 1961 Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations. Furthermore, it was disclosed that Glas is a citizen of Germany, which encouraged German officials to keep a careful eye on his situation.
A German foreign ministry official said, “We are following Mr. Glas’s case very closely and are trying to seek direct contact with him through the Ecuadoran authorities.” The legal battle between Ecuador and Mexico highlights how serious the diplomatic lapse was and how it affected ties with other countries.
Source: AFP
