Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court completes his term without closing preliminary examination on human rights in Venezuela

(CNN Spanish) – At the end of a nine-year term in office as Attorney General of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda revealed on Tuesday that she had been ready to make public her conclusions on a complaint against Venezuela for crimes against humanity, but that she had left it in suspended for consideration of a procedural instance that was pending resolution.

In a farewell letter that he made public, Bensouda recalled that he had promised to reach a final determination before the end of his term, but indicated that this was delayed pending the response of the Pre-Trial Chamber to a request from the government of Venezuela so that this room could exercise judicial control over the preliminary examination.

The official added that these presentations “were sent confidentially,” so she could not refer to them in detail, although her presentation was made public by the Venezuelan authorities themselves.

“In fact,” he added, “had already reached a final determination on the review, and had been preparing to announce the findings in response to the referral of the States Parties that signed the Rome Statute, but in due deference to the Pre-Trial Chamber, I decided to await the decision of the Chamber before making any other announcement ”.

He made it clear that the procedures and their results are currently classified as confidential and that he anticipates “that they will be made public shortly.”

Bensouda’s successor, the British Karim Khan, will be sworn in as Prosecutor of the Court this Wednesday, June 16 in The Hague.

In 2018, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru and Argentina, as members of the Lima Group, requested together with the Organization of American States (OAS), a request for the International Criminal Court to investigate the alleged crimes against humanity committed In Venezuela.

By that date, he was in the presidency of Argentina Mauricio Macri, but at the end of May this year, under Alberto Fernández, the Argentine government announced that it was withdrawing its support for the lawsuit.

The Lima Group emerged on August 8, 2017 with the aim of seeking a peaceful solution to the crisis in Venezuela with the accession of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay , Peru, Guyana, Haiti, Saint Lucia, Bolivia, Barbados, the United States, Grenada and Jamaica.

CNN contacted the Venezuelan Attorney General’s Office to find out their reaction on the matter without having received a response so far.

Meanwhile, the political leader and human rights defender Delsa Solorzano reacted on her Twitter account assuring that, in her opinion, Bensouda’s message reflects that “there are sufficient merits to open an investigation for crimes against humanity committed in Venezuela.” He also stressed that the change in the prosecutor “does not paralyze the process and that a prompt pronouncement is expected.” He closed by stating that the new prosecutor “is fully aware of the Venezuela case.”