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UN:
BAN KI-MOON URGES GREATER COOPERATION WITH INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT:
03/12/2007 (MaximsNews Network)
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UNITED NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network /
- 03 December 2007 --The
long-term success of the International Criminal Court (ICC) depends on greater
cooperation from the world’s countries, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said
today, calling on States to maintain their funding and public advocacy for the
tribunal.
Mr. Ban
told the sixth Assembly of States Parties, held at United Nations Headquarters
in New York, that the Court has quickly “established itself as the centrepiece
of our system of international criminal justice” in the five years since the
Rome Statute creating the ICC entered into force.
“It
both embodies and drives a profound evolution in international culture and law.
It serves notice to any would-be [Slobodan] Milosevic or Charles Taylor that
their actions today may lead to international prosecution tomorrow,” he said,
referring to the former Yugoslav and Liberian leaders accused of committing war
crimes.
But the
Secretary-General stressed that the Court’s ongoing success, and even ability
to function, will rely closely on the support of States Parties and from the UN,
international organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civil
society groups.
He
called for “cooperation that results in financial support and political
backing, and which flows from expressions of support in public, as well as
behind closed doors” for both the Court and for its Trust Fund for Victims.
Mr. Ban
pledged the continuing support of the UN towards the ICC – which is based in
The Hague in the Netherlands – and its Prosecutor and urged individual
countries to play their part in enforcing warrants and arresting indicted
individuals.
Turning
to the four situations that ICC prosecutors are investigating – the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Darfur region of Sudan, northern Uganda and the
Central African Republic (CAR) – Mr. Ban said that, in Darfur, “unspeakable
crimes on a massive scale are still being committed.”
He also
noted that some of the situations being probed remain unstable, with a lasting
peace not yet having taken hold and questions raised about the balance between
obtaining peace and finding a measure of justice regarding those who have
committed war crimes.
“There
are no easy answers to this morally and legally charged balancing act. However,
the overarching principle is clear: there can be no sustainable peace without
justice. Peace and justice, accountability and reconciliation are not mutually
exclusive. To the contrary, they go hand in hand.”
Labels: United
Nations, U.N.,
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