EU Presidency Statement - The rule of law and transitional justice in conflict and post-conflict societies

Mr. President,

I have the honor to speak on behalf of the European Union. The Candidate Countries Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and Croatia , the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, and the EFTA countries Iceland and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this declaration.

Mr. President,

There is no peace without justice, and there is no justice without the rule of law. As the Secretary-General himself put out in his Statement before the General Assembly on 21 September, the rule of law is indeed at risk. Fundamentals of rules of law are flouted not only by individuals, armed groups and terrorists, but also by States themselves. The European Union thanks the Secretary-General for his excellent and timely report and welcomes the vital importance that the Council attaches to work on justice and the rule of law.

The report indeed is timely: next year the United Nations will be meeting to review the progress in the implementation of the Millennium Declaration. The report of Eminent Persons in the Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change is foreseen for the 1st of December. The European Union is committed to an international order based on the rule of law with the United Nations at its core. At the international level, all countries need a framework of fair rules and the confidence that others will obey them. The maintenance and promotion of the rule of law is an ever-present imperative.

What holds for the multilateral system, also holds for the situation at national level. Peace, democracy, good governance and sustainable development are unthinkable without respect for the rule of law. In conflict and post-conflict societies, there are additional challenges to the rule of law: at the very moment when the need for justice is greatest, the legal structures necessary to deliver such justice may well be absent. Sometimes due to the conflict, at other times the existing structures may have lost much of their credibility.

Mr. President,

The European Union welcomes the conclusions and recommendations set out in the report of the Secretary-General and expresses its support to the inclusion of justice and rule of law elements in resolutions and mandates. We urge all States to endorse the entire set of recommendations set out in the report. We also strongly urge the Secretariat of the United Nations to take forward the recommendations in the report. It is indeed necessary to make the best possible use of existing expertise and resources already existing within the United Nations System for the planning, sequencing, timing and implementing of rule of law and transitional justice strategies in post conflict situations, including in the framework of UN peace keeping operations. The European Union encourages debate on the rule of law and transitional justice and welcomes the interest of the Chairman of the Sixth Committee to focus attention on the issue in the Committee. The European Union would also welcome expert meetings on specific parts of the report in order to specify the necessary actions in concrete situations and any initiatives of Member States in this regard. Some, as Finland, Germany and Jordan, have put forward thoughts on the organizational consequences for the Secretariat. These are also worth studying.

The European Union would like to point to measures set out in paragraph 65 of the report. These include strengthening the capacity of the Secretariat. Adequate resources need to be secured for relevant departments, in particular the Department of Peacekeeping Operations so as to respond to the increased UN involvement in this area. In addition, these measures include co-ordination of existing expertise and resources, promotion of gender equality in programs and policies, setting up databases and web-based resources and developing rosters of experts, workshops and training. The European Union urges other Member States and international organizations, to contribute national expertise and materials to these developments. The rule of law has been identified as one of four main fields of priority within civilian aspects of the common EU Security and Defence Policy. The first operation of its kind exclusively focusing on assistance in this area has been launched this year and in November member states will enhance their existing commitment concerning the number of available rule of law and other experts for EU crisis management operations.

In line with the report of the Secretary-General, the European Union recognizes the need to incorporate gender justice and gender sensitivity in all efforts and activities related to justice and the rule of law, as well as the need to ensure full participation of women.

International assistance should be based on international norms and standards. United Nations norms and standards set the boundaries of United Nations engagement in whichever form this engagement may take. The European Union welcomes the fact that the Secretary-General has listed some of these norms and standards. Peace agreements endorsed by the United Nations and Security Council resolutions and mandates should never promise amnesties for genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity. Also, the United Nations should never establish or directly participate in a tribunal that can impose capital punishment. The European Union wholeheartedly endorses and defends all of the norms and standards of the United Nations listed in the report.

The European Union realizes that when the international community is called to intervene in conflict and post-conflict societies, there is no one-size-fits-all formula. Our strategies should take into account national cultures and traditions, as well as local structures and capabilities. This way we can work towards locally "owned", sustainable post-conflict structures with well-functioning justice systems through which future disputes can be peacefully settled.

The European Union emphasizes the important role criminal justice has to play in a society's efforts to come to terms with past abuses. We also recognize the need to give greater attention to meeting the needs of victims and of the wider societies from which they come, including through the development of programmes to provide appropriate reparations to victims for harm suffered. The European Union supports the full range of transitional justice mechanisms as truth commissions, as well as international efforts to end impunity for the most serious international crimes, such as international or hybrid tribunals. The most significant of these efforts is beyond doubt the International Criminal Court, which is now fully operational. The Court is complementary to national criminal jurisdictions. It may assume jurisdiction as a last resort and only when a State is unable and unwilling to do so. The great advantage of the ICC compared with its predecessors is that it is readily available when the need arises. The European Union strongly believes that the Court will be an effective tool of the international community to buttress the rule of law and combat impunity. As the Secretary-General pointed out in his report, the Security Council has a particular role to play in this regard, as it is empowered to refer situations to the Court, even in cases where countries are not States parties to the Statute of the Court, or ask the Court to temporarily defer from exercising its functions in order for Security Council measures for the maintenance of restoration of international peace and security to take hold. The European Union shares the conviction of the Secretary-General that all States of the United Nations that have not yet done so, should move to ratification of the Rome Statute at the earliest possible opportunity.

The European Union notes the report's balanced appraisal of the lessons to be learned from the experience of the ad hoc international criminal tribunals. It cannot be denied that the gains have come at significant costs. But at the same time they have avoided a massive justice deficit in the countries they have served. All these lessons have convinced the European Union even more of the importance of the establishment of the permanent International Criminal Court. At a more practical level the European Union remains committed to supporting the efforts of the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda to successfully accomplish their completion strategies.

Assessment of contributions to both Tribunals are decided on by all and are to be paid by all in full and on time. States in the Security Council which established the tribunals in the first place have a special responsibility in this regard. We understand that some are in considerable arrears, up to tens of millions of dollars, thus stifling the ongoing work at the Tribunals. Also, the European Union would like to draw attention to the Special Court for Sierra Leone where voluntary contributions are not sufficient to finance the budget for just one more year, as well as to the future establishment of the extraordinary chambers in the courts of Cambodia for the prosecution of crimes committed during the period of Democratic Kampuchea, which must be also financed partially by voluntary contributions. We support the idea of financing partially the UN-sponsored tribunals through assessed contributions to the extent possible.

Mr. President,

The European Union would support a request by the Security Council to the Secretary-General to keep the Council informed on progress in taking forward the recommendations set out in the report and supports the Council's intention to consider this matter again within 6 months.

Thank you, Mr. President.

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