The Government of Ecuador rejected this Wednesday the broad condemnation of the Organization of American States (OAS) to its invasion of the Mexican Embassy in Quito to arrest Jorge Glasformer vice president during the term of Rafael Correa (2007-2017), but declared his openness to rebuilding relationships of trust with the Mexican Executive.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador recorded the vote of condemnation within the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) of the forcible invasion of the diplomatic headquarters last Friday, and highlighted that this ruling recognizes the positions of the two countries.
The resolution “reaffirms the obligation of the States Parties to the 1954 Diplomatic Asylum Convention to fully respect all its provisions”.
This Convention, also known as the Caracas Convention, prohibits granting political asylum to people who have been judicially prosecuted or who have been convicted by a judge, that is, that Mexico could not grant asylum to Glas.
In point 5 he reaffirms that States should not intervene in the internal politics of countries, as Ecuador has accused Mexico.
Illicit diplomatic asylum
Ecuador, which was the only country that voted against the resolution, has accused Mexico of allegedly “illicitly granting diplomatic asylum” to Glas for being prosecuted by Justice for common crimes and having two pending prison sentences for corruption cases.
According to the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry, his country also raised before the OAS about the alleged “misuse of diplomatic headquarters” and “interference in internal affairs” by the Mexican Executive, “actions that undermined good faith and trust in diplomatic relations.” with that country.
The member states of the OAS approved a resolution this Wednesday with “29 votes in favor, 1 against and 1 abstention, which considers and recognizes the positions of both Ecuador and Mexico,” said the Foreign Office of the Ecuadorian Government. .
The Foreign Ministry added that Ecuador opposed the sentence “because of the alleged violations committed” and the fact that the same had not been done with Mexico “which also committed a series of violations of international law.”
In addition to reaffirming “the obligation of States to ensure respect for the privileges and immunities of diplomatic missions,” the resolution notes that States “are also obliged not to interfere in the internal affairs” of the receiving State.
Sovereignty and non-intervention
Likewise, that “the premises of the diplomatic mission must not be used in a manner incompatible with the functions of the mission, as set forth in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, in other norms of general international law.”
«Ecuador is a country that has promoted, promotes and will promote peace, Latin American integration and diplomatic relations based on the defense of the sovereignty and independence of the State, respect for the principle of non-intervention and acting in good faith in the relations between States,” remarked the Foreign Ministry in Quito.
In this sense, he stressed that “the Government of the Republic of Ecuador reiterates its openness to rebuild relations of trust with Mexico, through constructive dialogue.”
Hours earlier, the Ecuadorian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gabriela Sommerfeld, described the OAS resolution as “fair” by reflecting the position of both countries, although she only condemned what was done by the Ecuadorian State.
Open to rebuild trust
“It is a fair resolution, where the non-compliance with the use of diplomatic headquarters is also seen, so we are going forward like Ecuador, we are also going to enforce our version of the events,” said Sommerfeld, after appearing in the International Affairs commission of the National Assembly (Parliament).
Glas, who received asylum from Mexico hours before the president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, ordered the police assault on the diplomatic headquarters to arrest him, has yet to finish serving an 8-year sentence for two other cases of corruption, for who spent almost five years in prison.
Ecuador, which had asked Mexico weeks ago for permission to enter the Embassy to arrest Glas, rejected that the North American country had granted asylum to the former vice president when he was being prosecuted.
Glas, who has always denied the charges against him, has declared himself politically persecuted and a victim of ‘lawfare’ (use of the judicial apparatus against political adversaries), a circumstance that the Ecuadorian Government has emphatically denied when defending the independence of its judicial system. . EFE
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