Caracas (EFE).- Venezuela’s National Assembly, controlled by the ruling party, voted unanimously on Thursday to repeal the country’s accession to the Rome Statute, a move lawmakers said aims to expose what they call the “uselessness” and “subservience” of the International Criminal Court.
The decision came after the ICC Office of the Prosecutor said on Dec. 1 it would shut down its Caracas office due to a lack of “genuine progress” by Venezuela on the principle of complementarity, which requires states to seriously investigate alleged crimes before the ICC intervenes.
During the vote, National Assembly president Jorge Rodríguez said the ICC “should protect the people and only serve the designs of United States imperialism.”
He added that the legislation also seeks to show “solidarity with the suffering of the Palestinian people.”
The bill now goes to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro for promulgation. It will enter into force once published in the Official Gazette.
Clashes over ICC investigation
Rodríguez repeated earlier accusations made during Tuesday’s first debate, saying Venezuela would leave the ICC because of what he called the court’s “subservience.”
He claimed ICC judges “are not there to provide justice or defend rights,” and accused the institution of remaining silent “about Israel’s genocide.”
However, the ICC issued arrest warrants in 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
The ICC Prosecutor’s Office stressed last week that despite the closure of its Caracas office, the investigation into alleged crimes against humanity in Venezuela “remains active” and will be conducted from The Hague.
Case against Venezuela remains open
The ICC opened its formal investigation in 2018, following a referral by several states.
Maduro’s government has repeatedly tried to halt the process, arguing that Venezuela’s judiciary is conducting its own inquiries.
In 2023, the ICC rejected those claims and authorized the full resumption of the probe into alleged crimes against humanity committed since 2017.
“Our work continues and will not be interrupted,” an ICC official familiar with the process told EFE on condition of anonymity.
With Thursday’s vote, Venezuela becomes one of the few countries to withdraw from the Rome Statute while under active investigation for grave human rights abuses. EFE
ls/seo/mcd
