Bersatu urges Malaysia to raise US action against Venezuela at UN

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia must take action through international platforms, including the UN General Assembly, to hold the United States to account over its controversial military action against Venezuela, says Bersatu.

Its secretary-general, Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, said the United States’ incursion to apprehend Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro amounted to a unilateral and unlawful use of armed force under international law, in violation of Article 2(4) of the Charter of the United Nations.

“There exists no valid legal justification — whether under the right of self-defence under Article 51 or a mandate of the United Nations Security Council — that could legitimise this incursion,” he said in a statement on Monday (Jan 5).

Azmin added that, under customary international law, the use of armed force against a sovereign state without a lawful basis constitutes the crime of aggression.

He said the Malaysian government should also strengthen Global South solidarity through the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and enhance cross-regional cooperation, while lending support to international accountability mechanisms addressing violations of international law.

“World peace cannot be upheld through violence, and international law cannot be enforced selectively, as state sovereignty is the right of every nation — not a privilege reserved for great powers,” he said.

“The crime of aggression must not be normalised, and great-power impunity cannot be accepted as the norm. The world cannot accept a reality in which power defines truth and weapons replace the rule of law.

“Bersatu stands firmly with the global community in defending the sovereignty, dignity and right of the Venezuelan people to determine their own future, free from aggression and foreign coercion,” he added.