- "The multilateral system must live up to the gravity of the events”: Foreign Secretary Bárcena
- "Ecuador violated the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations [...] by breaking into the embassy without authorization": Legal Advisor Alejandro Celorio
The Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, accompanied President Andrés Manuel López Obrador at today’s morning press conference. At his instruction, she announced that Mexico has filed a lawsuit in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for the flagrant violations committed by the Republic of Ecuador against the Mexican embassy and its diplomatic personnel on the night of Friday, April 5, 2024.
Mexico has been a pioneer in the design and development of international law. In addition, it has always promoted the peaceful settlement of disputes between States, as set forth in the UN Charter. The violent break-in by the Government of Ecuador of the Mexican embassy, and the acts of violence and harassment committed against its personnel, have caused irreparable damage to the international system as a whole.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said, "An abhorrent act such as the one suffered by Mexico and, especially, its diplomatic representation, should not be repeated in any country in the world. International law should be guaranteed. No embassies in any nation should be violated, and the States where diplomatic missions are located should commit to protecting the independence and guaranteeing the sovereignty of those spaces; that is what we seek.”
Foreign Secretary Bárcena said that Ecuador must be held accountable for its clear violation of the inviolability of the Mexican embassy, and for the physical attacks on the lives and dignity of its diplomatic personnel, especially Roberto Canseco Martínez and Eva Martha Balbuena Reyes. This constitutes a reprehensible violation of international law, particularly the provisions contained in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. In addition, Ecuador violated the Convention by tapping and listening to private communications from the Mexican Embassy; deploying an excessive number of police, special forces and military personnel around the embassy in previous days; and harassing and disrupting the embassy staff.
Secretary Alicia Bárcena said that Mexico makes several claims in the case filed with the ICJ related to the responsibility for the damages caused to Mexico and its nationals.
She said, "Mexico seeks to strengthen the international legal framework for the peaceful settlement of disputes that should govern international coexistence [...] what we are asking is for the multilateral system to live up to the gravity of the events [...] and we demand that international justice and the international system unambiguously condemn and punish these serious violations to avoid setting a precedent of impunity."
The legal advisor of the Foreign Ministry, Alejandro Celorio Alcántara, said that the application to institute proceedings submitted to the ICJ contains Mexico’s initial arguments. In the coming months, additional information will be presented.
"Let there be no doubt, Ecuador violated the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations by violating the immunity of the embassy and by entering without authorization, without any right [...] by threatening the lives and dignity of our diplomatic personnel [...] by interfering with our communications [...] by impeding and preventing the diplomatic work of our embassy and our personnel," said Legal Advisor Celorio.
He said that, in addition to the lawsuit, Mexico has asked the ICJ for provisional measures of protection to ensure the security and inviolability of the Mexican embassy, its contents and archives. Mexico believes that the serious violations committed by Ecuador in this case represent a dangerous precedent for the entire international community regarding the most basic obligations of States in the conduct of diplomatic relations.
Mexico reiterates its commitment to international law and justice and to the existing mechanisms for the peaceful settlement of disputes, and calls on the international community to strengthen them.
