Venezuela Should Take US to International Court
by Jay Janson via cyd - OpEd News Saturday, Feb 23 2019, 9:36pm
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Reuters reported that even prior to last Friday's clarification from the US Treasury, European buyers were already slashing purchases because of concerns over payments. Reuters reported that two of the world's largest oil traders, Vitol and Trafigura, said that they would comply with all US sanctions. The Wall Street Journal reported oil storage is "filling up" in Venezuela because of a lack of buyers.
Moreover, not only are the effects of the sanctions more far-reaching, but also more immediate. PDVSA, PetrĂ³leos de Venezuela, S.A. the Venezuelan state-owned oil and natural gas company has demanded upfront payment, likely because it fears not being paid at all or having the revenues steered to the opposition. Indeed, the US effort to steer PDVSA and its revenues into the hands of the US-backed opposition leader Juan Gauido appears to be a decisive turning point.
Oil tankers linked to Chevron, Lukoil and Respsol are delayed, redirected or sitting offshore because of lack of payment. The WSJ says that several of those tankers " are now anchored off the coast of Maracaibo sitting idle. "This is an absolute disaster," Luis Hernandez, a Venezuelan oil union leader, told the WSJ. "There's almost no way to move the oil."
Unable to sell any oil, the Venezuelan government could quickly run out of cash. The result could be a humanitarian catastrophe, a merciless and destructive objective that the Trump administration seems to have in mind."
Also:
The Bank of England is currently withholding $1.2 billion in gold from Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government, but is being urged by Washington to release it to the chairman of the National Assembly, Juan Guaido. Last week, the US backed Guaido as the legitimate president of Venezuela, after he declared himself interim president.
The Venezuelan government must sue the US government in the International Court of Justice for creating famine by & sanctioning all its oil sales & seizing its bank deposits.
First of All
According to the Charter of the United Nations[1], only the UN Security Council has a mandate by the international community to apply sanctions (Article 41). Only the UN Security Council!
Secondly:
Principle 6 of the Nuremberg Principles of International Law[2] defines
Crimes against humanity:
(c) inhuman acts done against any civilian population. I.e. inhuman acts done against any civilian population is a crime against humanity deserving punishment.
Stealing, confiscating and misappropriating of funds needed to feed a population and blocking its government with sanctions from income in trade in order to feed its population certainly are certainly current and past inhuman acts against the civilian population of Venezuela.
And Thirdly:
The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide[3] was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 9 December 1948 The Convention entered into force on 12 January 1951.
Convention on Genocide
Article I
The Contracting Parties confirm that genocide is a crime under international law which they undertake to prevent and to punish.
Article II
In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethical, racial or religious group, as such:
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part:
Officials of United States government are deliberately inflicting on the Venezuelan nation conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in part and causing serious bodily and mental harm to Venezuelans, and by the The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide adopted by the United Nations General Assembly this is a punishable crime of genocide.
The Venezuela government MUST sue the US in the International Court of Justice for creating famine by & blocking all oil sales & seizing bank deposits
In 1986, the International Court of Justice in adjudicating The Republic of Nicaragua v. The United States of America, held that the U.S. had violated international law by supporting the Contras in their rebellion against the Nicaraguan government international law supporting the Contras in their rebellion against the Nicaraguan government and by mining Nicaragua's harbors. Never mind that the United States refused to participate in the proceedings after the Court rejected its argument that the ICJ lacked jurisdiction to hear the case. Never mind that U.S. also blocked enforcement of the judgment by the United Nations Security Council and thereby prevented Nicaragua from obtaining any compensation. The General Assembly voted twice in favor of a resolution calling for full and immediate compliance with the judgement with only Israel voting against with the USA, but more importantly, probably because of the great attention the US conviction received in 'the court of public opinion,' the US stopped mining Nicaragua's harbors and lessened outright support for the Contra's murderous attacks.
The Venezuela government must sue the United States in the International Court of Justice for creating famine by & blocking all its oil sales & stealing its bank deposits. Let this crime be dramatized and condemned in the 'world wide court of public opinion.'
End Notes
1.
The Charter of the United Nations (also known as the UN Charter) of 1945 is the foundational treaty of the United Nations , an intergovernmental organization.[1]The UN Charter articulated a commitment to uphold human rights of citizens and outlined a broad set of principles relating to achieving 'higher standards of living', addressing 'economic, social, health, and related problems,' and 'universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race , sex, language, or religion.'[2] As a charter, it is a constituent treaty, and all members are bound by its articles. Furthermore, Article 103 of the Charter states that obligations to the United Nations prevail over all other treaty obligations.[1][3]
2.
Principle VI
The crimes hereinafter set out are punishable as crimes under international law:
(c) Crimes against humanity:
Murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation and other inhumane acts done against any civilian population, or persecutions on political, racial, or religious grounds, when such acts are done or such persecutions are carried on in execution of or in connection with any crime against peace or any war crime.
3.
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide Approved and proposed for signature and ratification or accession by General Assembly resolution 260 A (III) of 9 December 1948
Entry into force: 12 January 1951, in accordance with article XIII
Article I
The Contracting Parties confirm that genocide, whether committed in time of peace or in time of war, is a crime under international law which they undertake to prevent and to punish.
Article II
In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
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