Venezuela urges action from UN Security Council following US strikes

UNITED NATIONS -- Venezuelan UN ambassador Samuel Moncada on Monday requested action from the Security Council following US strikes against his country over the weekend.

Venezuela urges the Security Council to fully assume its responsibility and act in accordance with the mandate conferred on it by the UN Charter, Moncada told an emergency meeting of the council.

"In that regard, we request that the government of the United States of America be demanded to fully respect the immunities of (Venezuelan) President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores, as well as their immediate release and safe return to Venezuela," said the ambassador.

Maduro and his wife were forcibly removed from Venezuela and brought to the United States.

Moncada demanded that the use of force against Venezuela be clearly and unequivocally condemned by the Security Council, and that the principle of non-acquisition of territory or resources by force be reaffirmed.

He also called for measures aimed at de-escalation, the protection of the civilian population, and the restoration of international law.

"Venezuela comes before this Council today with a deep conviction that international peace can only be sustained if international law is respected without exception, without double standards, and without selective interpretations," said Moncada.

He said that Saturday's military action against Venezuela constitutes a flagrant violation of the UN Charter, in particular, the violation of the principle of sovereign equality of states, of the prohibition of threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, and of the duty to settle disputes by peaceful means.

The US move also seriously violates the Geneva Conventions and Protocols, the ambassador said.

"When force is used to control resources, impose governments, or redesign states, we are faced with a logic that harks back to the worst practices of colonialism and neocolonialism," he said. "This scenario not only threatens Venezuela, it threatens international peace and security as a whole."

If the kidnapping of a head of state, the bombing of a sovereign country, and the open threat of further armed action are tolerated or downplayed, the message sent to the world is a devastating one, namely that law is optional, and that force is the true arbiter of international relations, Moncada warned.