Mexico accuses Ecuador of violating international law in UN Court

Mexico accused Ecuador of violating international law after Ecuadorian authorities raided the Mexican embassy in Quito. The episode occurred on April 5 and resulted in the arrest of former Ecuadorian vice president Jorge Glas, who was taking refuge there.

In a hearing at the ICJ (International Court of Justice), in The Hague (Netherlands), this Tuesday (April 30, 2024), the legal advisor of the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Alejandro Celorio Alcantara, said that the action “exceeded limits” and “violated one of the pillars that govern the relationship” between countries.

“The forced and violent incursion of the Ecuadorian authorities […] and the unjustified exercise of violence against members of our diplomatic mission, together with the blatant attempt to justify a serious violation of international law, vividly demonstrate Ecuador’s disregard for universally accepted fundamental norms”he stated.

The Mexican government filed a case against Ecuador at the International Court of Justice on April 11. In the action (full – PDF – 331 kB, in English), the country requests that provisional measures be taken against the neighboring country until the UN court decides on the case. Are they:

• that the government of Ecuador “take appropriate and immediate measures to provide full protection and security to diplomatic facilities, their assets and archives, avoiding any form of intrusion against them”;
• “allow the Mexican government to vacate diplomatic facilities and the private residence of diplomatic agents”;
• “ensure that no action is taken that could prejudice the rights of Mexico in relation to any decision that the Court may make on” the case; It is
• “refrain from any act or conduct that may aggravate or expand the controversy” analyzed by the Court.

The ICJ hearings this Tuesday (April 30) and Wednesday (May 1) will be to analyze these provisional measures. A representative of Ecuador will give statements at the hearing on Wednesday.

ECUADOR REACTS

The South American country also filed a lawsuit against Mexico at the ICJ. Here is the full text (PDF – 164 kB, in English).

According to the document released on Monday (April 29), the Ecuadorian government states that the political asylum given to Jorge Glas was “illegal” and constituted a “flagrant misuse of the facilities of a diplomatic mission”.

He also said that the practice represented interference in the country’s internal affairs.