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The
Ministers of Foreign Affairs of (L-R) Peru, Rafael Roncagliolo, Ecuador,
Ricardo Patino, Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, and Colombia, Maria Angela
Holguin,
answer questions to the press after an extraordinary meeting of the
Council of
Ministers of UNASUR in Guayaquil, Ecuador on August 19, 2012
(AFP Photo /
Rodrigo Buendia)
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The Union
of South American Nations (UNASUR) has unanimously adopted a seven-point
resolution supporting Ecuador’s right to grant Julian Assange asylum and
condemning British threats to raid a sovereign state’s embassy in order to
arrest him.
Foreign
ministers of the 12-member bloc took part in an extraordinary meeting in
Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city. A resolution was adopted just eight minutes
after the session began, and was read out by Secretary General Ali Rodriguez.
Rodriguez'
readout of the resolution was met with loud applause.
The document
reaffirmed the sovereign right of any country to grant asylum and condemned
threats to use force, stating that the bloc’s foreign ministers had taken into
account the aide memoire Britain sent to the Ecuadorian Embassy in London on
the eve of the announcement of the decision on whether to grant Assange asylum.
The
resolution reiterated “the inviolability of embassies” and the Vienna
Convention, saying that principles of international law could not be overridden
by domestic laws, such as the Diplomatic and Consular Act of 1987, which grants
the British Secretary of State discretion to revoke immunity to ambassadorial
premises.
The
organization vowed to encourage all parties to the Assange case to continue
dialogue to find a solution within the framework of international law. The
importance of refuge and asylum for the protection of human rights was also
reaffirmed by the South American foreign ministers.
After the
session, Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino addressed the press.
He noted
that while the United Kingdom was a country far more powerful military-wise
than Ecuador, the small Latin American country had the high ground in terms of
its understanding of international law.
“Reason
does not call for force,” Patino stated. “The force may be as different and as
distant as a small country and a country which has atomic bombs. But here,
reason is with us."
Patino
thanked fellow Latin American nations for firmly supporting Quito on the issue
and said he was pleased with the fact that Julian Assange knows that the region
respects international law, the right to personal integrity and the freedom of
expression.
He also
said he waiting for a resolution expected to be adopted at a similar
foreign-minister level meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS),
which is scheduled to meet next Friday.
Ecuador
convened a number of regional meetings following the threat to storm the
country’s embassy in London.
On
Saturday, representatives of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our
America (ALBA) adopted a similar eight-point resolution condemning Britain for
its “intimidating threats” to violate the principles of sovereignty and
territorial integrity.
On Friday,
a special meeting of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American
States, which envelopes countries from North, Central and South America, votedto hold a meeting of the member states’ foreign ministers in order to discuss
the same resolution filed by Ecuador.
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