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37th Plenary Meeting of General Assembly 71st Session
Assembly President Peter Thomson (Fiji) recalled that 18 years had elapsed since the world came together in Rome to establish the International Criminal Court. Nevertheless, daily atrocities committed against innocent civilians continued to shock the international conscience. Encouraging States to promote the universality of the Rome Statute — the treaty that had established the Court and whose States Parties had accepted its jurisdiction — he warned that Member States should strengthen, not diminish, their resolve to end impunity.
Silvia Fernández de Gurmendi, President of the International Criminal Court, echoed that sentiment, stressing, “The assistance and cooperation of States remains crucial for the Court’s ability to conduct its mandate.” Over the last two decades, she said, the body had given a voice to victims and made strides in addressing crimes such as the use of child soldiers, sexual violence in conflict attacks on civilians and the destruction of cultural property, while its Trust Fund for Victims had assisted more than 300,000 victims with physical and psychological rehabilitation and material support.
Presenting the Court’s latest annual report, she said the past year had seen three judgments, two trials held in their entirety, two ongoing trials and another set to begin soon. Following convictions, reparations proceedings were underway in four cases. Among other key developments, the Court had sentenced former Congolese politician Jean-Pierre Bemba to concurrent terms of 18 years in prison for rape and 16 years for murder carried out in the Central African Republic.
In its first conviction relating to the protection of cultural property, she said, the Court had sentenced Ahmad Al Mahdi — a former prominent figure of an Al-Qaida splinter group — to nine years in prison for destroying 10 buildings of a religious and historical character in Timbuktu, Mali. It had also begun a trial against Côte d’Ivoire’s former President, Laurent Gbagbo, and another Ivoirian politician, who stood accused of murder, rape, persecution and other inhumane acts allegedly committed during the country’s 2010‑2011 post-election violence.
Throughout the debate, many speakers expressed their support for those “unprecedented” judicial activities, with several noting that trials against prominent leaders demonstrated that no one was above international law. However, a number of delegates expressed regret that several nations — including South Africa, Burundi and Gambia — had recently announced their withdrawal, or their intention to withdraw, from the Rome Statute.
Switzerland’s representative, stressing that those withdrawals sent a troubling signal, declared, “If anything, the multiplication of horrendous crimes around the globe should prompt us all to engage more thoroughly in the fight against impunity, and certainly not to reduce the commitment.” Indeed, he said, it was precisely because the Court successfully executed its mandate that some States rejected it.
Several speakers, including Denmark’s representative, who spoke on behalf of the Nordic countries, emphasized the need for stronger cooperation between the Court and the Security Council, particularly in cases of non-cooperation with the Court. Expressing deep regret that the Council had been unable to refer the Syrian situation to the Court, and urging its members to continue those efforts, he said justice must also be ensured for victims of mass atrocities in Iraq.
In that regard, the Philippines’ representative joined other speakers in calling on the five permanent Council members to refrain from using their veto in situations involving mass atrocity crimes under the jurisdiction of the Court. Expressing her delegation’s support for the code of conduct for Council action against genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, she further called on the Council to take the necessary follow-up measures on situations it had referred to the Court, so as to uphold the credibility of both institutions and to ensure accountability.
Among other prominent issues, a number of delegates welcomed new ratifications of the Kampala Amendments on Crimes of Aggression, which would enter into force for 30 States in June 2017. Chile’s representative, for one, recalled that his Government had deposited its instrument of ratification last month and had been working to integrate the crime of aggression into Chilean national law.
The representative of the United States, however, expressed her delegation’s serious concerns about the Crimes of Aggression amendments, emphasizing that their activation should be preceded by concrete steps to provide greater clarity regarding conduct and which States would be covered by them.
Meanwhile, other speakers raised concerns about selectivity in the Court’s actions and its willingness to “turn a blind eye” to crimes committed in certain parts of the world. In that vein, Cuba’s representative pointed to referrals made by the Security Council as confirmation of a negative trend of continuously and unfairly attacking developing countries. The Court must not be subservient to political interests that destroy its objectivity, she said, expressing regret that crimes committed by Council’s powers were exempt from prosecution.
Similarly, Sudan’s representative warned against attempts to turn the Court into a platform for some States to carry out their own political objectives, in contravention of international law and the principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter. Stressing that the body was a tool aimed at targeting Africa’s leaders, he called for an end to the political calculations that were staining the Court’s reputation.
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38th Plenary Meeting of General Assembly 71st Session
