Released: April 11, 2002
At a ceremony this morning at United Nations Headquarters in New York, a group of ten states are expected to deposit their instruments of ratification of the treaty creating an International Criminal Court (ICC).
The ten states, which together will share the distinction of being the 60th to ratify the treaty, are: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ireland, Jordan, Mongolia, Romania, Slovakia and Niger.
Once established, the Court will be based in The Hague, the Netherlands, and will investigate and prosecute individuals accused of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. It will act only as a court of last resort, taking cases when domestic courts are unable or unwilling to do so.
Today’s events mark a tremendous achievement for the international community. Despite international treaties forbidding genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, there has not been a reliable system for enforcing these laws. The ICC will provide an essential new tool for ending impunity for the worst violations of international humanitarian law.
"This court will make a big difference," said Fergus Watt, Executive Director of the World Federalists of Canada. "It will strengthen the rule of law. It will protect civilians around the world. It will eventually become an important tool in combating terrorism and other crimes committed by non-state actors."
"At the same time," Mr. Watt continued, "We should not expect too much, too soon from the ICC." It will take at least a year to complete the process of adopting rules, nominating and electing judges and prosecutors, and staffing the Court. Just as we’ve seen with the ad hoc Tribunals for Rwanda and former Yugoslavia, we can expect the ICC to move slowly at first."
The Canadian government and Canadian NGOs have played leading roles in the global campaign to create the International Criminal Court (ICC). "Notwithstanding strong U.S. objections to the ICC, no government has done more than Canada to bring this new institution into being," said Watt.
Contact: Fergus Watt (613-232-0647) (by email: wfcnat@web.ca)
Mr. Watt is Executive Director, World Federalists of Canada
and Coordinator, Canadian NGO Network for the ICC