Venezuela announces withdrawal from International Criminal Court — Pajhwok

KABUL (Pajhwok): Venezuela has informed the United Nations of its “irrevocable” decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), accusing the tribunal of bias against countries in the Global South, media reports said on Saturday. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Felix Plasencia said in a social media post on Friday that the government had notified the UN of its decision to leave the court on the instructions of interim President Delcy Rodriguez, Al Jazeera reported. Plasencia accused the ICC of “geographical bias,” saying its investigations had disproportionately targeted countries in Africa and Latin America. The ICC announced in 2021 that it would investigate alleged crimes against humanity committed by Venezuelan authorities during a crackdown on anti-government protests in 2017. Venezuela’s National Assembly also voted in December last year to withdraw the country’s commitments under the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC. The announcement comes as relations between Venezuela and the United States have shown signs of improvement in recent months. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week that Washington would work to “systematically dismantle” the ICC. The United States is not a member of the court, and President Donald Trump’s administration has imposed sanctions on several ICC officials and prosecutors over investigations involving alleged actions by US and Israeli forces. Based in The Hague, Netherlands, the ICC…