EU Presidency Statement - Report of International Criminal Court

STATEMENT BY THE UNITED KINGDOM ON BEHALF OF THE MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, ON THE REPORT OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT, UNITED NATIONS, New York

Mr President,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The following States align themselves with this statement: the acceding countries Bulgaria and Romania; the candidate countries Croatia* and Turkey; the countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro; the EFTA country Iceland, member of the European Economic Area; and other aligning countries Ukraine and Moldova.

Mr President,

The European Union welcomes the first annual report of the International Criminal Court submitted to the General Assembly. And we warmly welcome the President of the Court, Judge Philippe Kirsch, and thank him for his presentation today.

Mr President,

The European Union is a strong supporter of the ICC, and has consistently and actively defended the integrity of the Rome Statute, and will continue to do so. The establishment of the ICC is beyond doubt the most significant development in recent years in the long struggle to eradicate impunity for the most serious international crimes, and thereby advance the cause of justice and the rule of law. We also view the ICC as an essential instrument for the prevention of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The European Union reaffirms its determination to obtain the widest possible international support for the ICC, including by promoting the universal acceptance of the Rome Statute. More than half of the UN membership are now parties. We urge all other States also to accede without delay. We particularly welcome the 100th ratification by Mexico on 28 October 2005. We also call on all States to become parties to the Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the International Criminal Court.

The European Union will continue to defend the integrity of the Rome Statute and we recall the set of principles that we have established in that regard.

The European Union welcomes the substantial progress that has already been made in making the ICC fully operational. As the President has highlighted, now that it is operational, the ICC is dependent on the support and co-operation of all States Parties, and other States, international organisations and civil society, in order to carry out its task of prosecuting the most serious international crimes of concern to the international community. We are determined to help the Court carry out that task and we call on all concerned to give that co-operation fully.

Mr President,

The ICC is well and truly up and running. It has begun to play an important role in our common efforts to establish the rule of law, to promote and encourage respect for human rights and to restore and maintain international peace and security. The Judges and the Prosecutor took office in 2003, and the Court is now into the judicial phase of its operations. The Prosecutor, Mr Moreno-Ocampo, is actively investigating situations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and in Northern Uganda. He launched an investigation into the situation in Darfur, the Sudan, shortly after the historic decision by the Security Council to refer that situation. Another milestone was the unsealing on 14 October this year of the first warrants of arrest concerning five senior leaders of the Lords Resistance Army for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Uganda. These were the first warrants of arrest to be unsealed by the Court. Those decisions send very clear messages to perpetrators of the most serious crimes of international concern.

The European Union commends the Court for its outreach activities in the field which are carried out in relation to these cases. It is indeed crucial that the Court is also a reality for the victims of the most horrendous crimes. The Rome Statute contains several unique victims based provisions that are aimed at providing victims with the opportunity to have their voices heard and to obtain justice. A Trust Fund for the benefit of the victims and their families has been set up, and we would like to encourage Member States to contribute to this Fund.

We recall the meeting earlier this year of the Special Working Group on the Crime of Aggression, which is open to all States on an equal footing, whether or not they are parties to the Rome Statute. We commend Ambassador Wenaweser of Liechtenstein for his skilful work in moving that group forward and we will continue to work together with him to elaborate proposals on the crime of aggression by 2008.

Mr President

The States Parties to the Rome Statute are now looking forward to the next Assembly of States Parties which will take place in The Hague at the end of November, and will resume in New York during January 2006. We urge all Member States of the United Nations to attend that meeting.

The European Union emphasises the importance of the conclusion in October 2004 and the implementation of the Relationship Agreement between the United Nations and the ICC, which provides for close co-operation and consultation. We thank the Secretary General and his staff for their work in negotiating and implementing the agreement, both at Headquarters and in the field.

The 2004 report of the ICC to the General Assembly is a very useful update and we very much appreciate the opportunity to discuss it here today with the President of the Court. We look forward to receiving such reports annually in the General Assembly. And we welcome very much the presence of the ICC at the General Assembly in the capacity of observer and look forward to its participation in next years General Assembly debate.

Thank you Mr President.


* Croatia continues to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.

| Arriba |

• International Criminal Court Cooperation and Assistance Agreement (10/4/2006)
• EU Presidency closing statement at 4th session of Assembly of States Parties to ICC  (3/12/2005)
• EU Presidency Declaration on Mexico's ratification of Rome Statute (7/11/2005)
• EUHR Solana welcomes first ICC arrest warrants (14/10/2005)
• Speech by Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner on 'The ICC, Transatlantic Relations and Co-operation with Third Parties to Promote the Rule of Law' (14/4/2005)