Mexico hales Ecuador into international court over raid
MEXICO CITY—Mexico filed a lawsuit against Ecuador Thursday at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over the storming of its embassy in Quito, saying it wanted the South American country “suspended” from the United Nations.
Mexico’s complaint asks that Ecuador be suspended from the UN unless it issues a public apology “recognizing the violations of the fundamental principles and norms of international law,” foreign minister Alicia Barcena said.
The goal was to “guarantee the reparation of the moral damage inflicted on the Mexican state and its nationals,” she told a press conference.
Ecuadoran security forces stormed the embassy last Friday to arrest former Ecuadoran vice president Jorge Glas, who is wanted on corruption charges and had been granted asylum by Mexico.
The rare incursion on diplomatic territory sparked an international outcry, and led Mexico to break ties with Ecuador, pulling its diplomats out of the country.
Raid defended
At the same press conference, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the goal of the suit was “that this doesn’t repeat itself in any other country in the world, that international law is guaranteed.”
Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa has defended the embassy raid as necessary to detain Glas because he posed a flight risk, saying he was willing to “resolve any difference” with Mexico.
The Hague-based ICJ—set up after World War II to rule on disputes between countries—confirmed late Thursday it had received the application.
A spokesperson for UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said suspending a country from the UN is “an issue for member states to decide.”
Through dialogue
“We do very much hope that the tensions between Ecuador and Mexico are dealt with through dialogue,” Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York.
While a proper hearing into the matter may take several years, Mexico has also asked international judges to hand down “provisional measures”—a set of emergency orders—to protect its diplomatic officials.
“The Mexican Embassy in Ecuador, along with its property and archives, faces the risk of not being protected or further being violated again,” Mexico said in its application.
Several Latin American states, Spain, the European Union, United States and the UN chief have condemned the embassy intrusion as a violation of the 1961 Vienna Convention governing diplomatic relations.
Latin American leaders will hold a virtual conference next Tuesday to discuss the raid, Honduran President Xiomara Castro said. —AFP
