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Paris,
30th September 2002
The First
Assembly of States Parties (ASP) of the International Criminal
Court (ICC) will convene at the United Nations Headquarter in
New York from September 3 to 10, 2002.
The FIDH,
which has actively participated in the negotiations of the Statute
and its additionnal instruments , considers this first meeting
of States that have ratified the Rome Statute as historic. It
constitutes an essential step in the establishement of an independant
international criminal justice which finally allows victims
of the most heinous crimes - genocide, war crimes and crimes
against humanity - to be heard. Intervening in the context of
the all-out American offensive against the ICC, this session
is not without risk for the effectiveness and independence of
the Court.
Since the
adoption in Rome in July 1998 of the Statute of the first permanent
International Criminal Court, 139 States have signed the Treaty
and 78 States have ratified it, allowing the entry into force
of the Court on July 1, 2002. Although the 15 Member States
of the European Union and numerous Eastern European, African
and Latin American countries are parties to the Statute of the
Court, the same cannot be said of Asian countries and countries
located in the South and East of the Mediterranean. The FIDH
continues to rally in favor of the universality of the ICC and
maintains more than ever its campaign of ratification of the
Statute of the Court.
The first
ASP will have a tremendous role : it will be responsible for
adopting the complementary texts of the Rome Statute which have
been negotiated since 1998 during the 10 sessions of the Preparatory
Commission for the ICC including the Rules of Procedure and
Evidence, the Elements of crimes, the budget for the first financial
year etc. The ASP will also decide on the final procedure of
nomination and election of the judges, whose quality and independence
are essential for the good functionning of the Court.
The first
ASP will be held in the context of strong US hostility to the
Court. While the US obtained a Security Council resolution that
grant – for one year renewable – a systematic immunity
to nationals of non States Parties involved in UN Peace keeping
operations, they are currently trying to rule out all surrender
of American citizens to the Court. Having strongly expressed
their opposition to the ICC, notably in the American Service
Members' Protection Act (ASPA), the United States are trying,
through bilateral agreements, to prohibit all transfers of their
citizens to the Court, and to ensure that American courts have
a priority of jurisdiction for the crimes under the jurisdiction
of the ICC. The FIDH published an analysis on the American demarches
“No to the American exceptionalism – The United States
under cover of the war against terrorism continue their destruction
of the ICC” available on the website www.fidh.org.
The US attitude
is unacceptable as it, on the one hand, contrevenes with States
Parties obligations to cooperate with the Court and on the other
hand is shown as part of the anti terrorism global US strategy.
The FIDH
strongly denounces the attitude of the United States vis-à-vis
the International Criminal Court, for it sacrifices the founding
of a better world for opportunistic and short- sighted interests.
The FIDH calls on all States to oppose such proposals by the
United States and to reaffirm their commitment to an independent,
effective international criminal justice system.
The FIDH
wishes to congratulate the 78 States Parties to the Court which,
despite the current anti-ICC offensives, maintained their commitment
to the emergence of an independent international criminal justice
system. The FIDH urges those States to confirm their commitment
by refusing to reopen the additional texts of the Rome Statute.
Such a possibility would erode the jurisdiction of the Court
and its credibility.
Contact
Press
FIDH Press Office : +33 1 43 55 25 18
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