Protection of the Venezuelan Embassy and International Law

From left: Kevin Zeese, Margaret Flowers, David Paul, and Adrienne Pine at windows of the Venezuelan Embassy. Signs below them call for a mutual Protecting Power Agreement. Photo courtesy of Popular Resistance.

Introduction by Cherrill Spencer (Palo Alto Branch), Cindy Domingo (Cuba and the Bolivarian Alliance issue committee), and Darien De Lu (WILPF US President); condensed report by Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers (Popular Resistance).

The Trump administration precipitated a crisis in international law with the Washington, DC, arrests of the “Embassy Protection Collective” members inside the Venezuelan Embassy and the turning over of the embassy to US-identified opposition leader Juan Guaido on May 16, 2019. Below is a shortened version of the full Popular Resistance report with details on the underreported news of the embassy occupation.

These introductory paragraphs to the Popular Resistance report briefly explain international law and tie that in to the WILPF US Fall Solidarity Events focusing on treaties and conventions.

Media coverage of Venezuela developments is remarkably (but, unfortunately, unsurprisingly!) unbalanced. On Venezuela, the “media of record” continue their one-sided reporting.

In May, the Trump administration took dangerous actions at the Venezuela embassy in D.C., trying to further its coup attempts to overthrow democratically elected President Nicolas Maduro. The Trump-supported violations of international law occurred even as initial steps at peace negotiations took place. Direct talks continue in Oslo between the two Venezuelan sides and mediated by the Norwegian government.

Many of these embassy attacks and takeover moves (by Guaido backers) have happened, as presented in this well researched video.

The Venezuelan Embassy Protection Collective has called for a mutual Protecting Power Agreement as a legal pathway to end the embassy crisis. A Protecting Power Agreement is an example of international law.  International law has emerged over the past few centuries from multiple efforts to deal with conflict among countries (or states as the United Nations calls them). The rules laid out in international law provide order and help to mitigate destructive conflicts.

Another example of US violations of international law are the unilateral US sanctions against Venezuela (and other countries, including Cuba and Iran).  Such unilateral sanctions are illegal, since only the UN has the legal authority to impose sanctions. Additionally, the sanctions violate human rights, because they have a devastating effect on the people of all these countries. In Venezuela, the sanctions are greatly exacerbating a crisis situation, and according to Economist Jeffrey Sachs, have led to the deaths of tens of thousands of people since 2017.

Modern international law has developed in a number of ways; the most common sources are international agreements and treaties between states. Treaties and international law help keep peace and enhance justice worldwide, and WILPF US supports their importance.
 
To educate the general public about treaties and to answer the US President’s dismissal of them, this fall WILPF branches will focus on treaties and conventions in Solidarity Events. The Fall Solidarity Events will “belong” to WILPF US alone. They will help increase WILPF’s visibility, which can get lost in large events like Earth Day.

International law has emerged over the past few centuries from multiple efforts to deal with conflict, and Trump is casting aside this labor of centuries! States have agreed to regulate issues of common concern by consent, bringing stability into their mutual relations. The resulting treaties and conventions are written agreements that states willingly sign and ratify, they are binding on the signers who become obliged to follow the rules.

In terms of international law, there is practically no difference between a treaty and a convention. In history, however, conventions are agreed by a larger number of nations whereas treaties are signed by a limited number of countries.

The article below brings you a fuller report of the D.C. embassy situation. We will keep you informed through Action Alerts or emails to branches with updates and further actions needed!

Popular Resistance Report

From the full Popular Resistance story: Protection of Venezuelan Embassy Continues, Opposition to US Coup Builds by Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers.  Published by permission of Popular Resistance.

While the final four inside members of the Embassy Protection Collective were arrested on May 16, 2019 (and released the next day), the Collective’s efforts to protect the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington, DC and to end the US coup continue.

We have consistently sought a mutual Protecting Power Agreement between the US and Venezuela so the US Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela can be protected by Switzerland and the Venezuelan Embassy in DC can be protected by Turkey. This is still the legal pathway to end the embassy crisis.

Protecting Power Agreements … have been embedded in international law since the 1870s. Currently they are enshrined in Article 45 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961. They are used when diplomatic relations have been broken in order to protect foreign embassies. Twenty-nine Protecting Power Agreements are currently in place around the world.

When the United States government illegally invaded the Venezuelan Embassy to arrest and evict us, it violated the Vienna Convention and put all embassies around the world at risk. Federal agents assaulted the embassy with a battering ram and more than 100 officers, many armed with para-military gear even though we said we would not resist arrest or barricade ourselves in the embassy. This was after the US had illegally turned off electricity and water to the embassy and allowed a mob of coup supporters to assault the embassy and Embassy Protectors.

The violation of the Vienna Convention, a precedent set by the Trump administration, puts US embassy personnel and embassies at risk around the world….

… Anyone who followed the activities during the Embassy Protection Collective’s actions can see the State Department was failing to protect the embassy as it allowed pro-coup advocates to break windows and doors, break and enter into the building, deface the building and assault people outside the building while threatening those inside the building.

Other Embassy Protectors arrested outside for trying to get food and supplies into the embassy are also facing charges, including “hurling missiles at a building” (bread and cucumbers) and assault, even though they were the ones assaulted.…

We are working with other peace and justice advocates to organized national and international days of action to protect the embassies [the U.S. embassy in Caracas, and the Venezuelan embassy in D.C.], stop the US coup attempt and end the illegal unilateral coercive measures (misnamed sanctions) and threats of military attacks on Venezuela….

…US militarism is also a major cause of the climate crisis as the Pentagon is a major source for climate gases and fights wars for oil when we need to break our addiction to oil.… Challenging the US war machine links many issues and causes.

If people are organized and mobilized, we can make these issues central to the political narrative in the United States and ensure that in the upcoming election cycle no legitimate candidate can support the US coup in Venezuela and must put forward plans to end US militarism.