ICC Prosecutor and President’s Participation to the 38th FIDH Congress

On 23 May 2013, Sang-Hyun Song, President of the International Criminal Court (ICC), and Fatou Bensouda, ICC Prosecutor, participated in the opening of the 38th FIDH Congress in Istanbul. Celebrating the 15th anniversary of the Rome Statute, Sang-Hyun Song enjoined the Turkish President to ratify the Rome Statute, making Turkey the 123th State Party.

Sang-Hyun Song, who, the day before, participated in a conference entitled « The International Criminal Court : A Global Commitment to End Impunity » and organized by the Turkish and International Coalition for the International Criminal Court, in collaboration with FIDH, stressed that the ratification of the Rome Statute was an important means to fight against impunity. « The goal of universal membership is important for several reasons. Each new State Party strengthens and broadens the ICC’s jurisdiction, increasing its credibility not only for holding perpetrators of mass atrocities accountable, but also for the prevention of future atrocity crimes. », he said during the conference on 22 May at Bilgi University.

M. Song added during his speach at opening of the 38th FIDH Congress: « The particularly acute suffering of women in conflict has far too often been invisible. And when suffering goes unrecognised, when victims are not heard, and perpetrators not held to account – then wounds cannot heal, justice cannot be attained, and the cycle of suffering continues. »

As for Fatou Bensouda, she declared during the opening of the 38th FIDH Congress: « Gone are the days when those who commit mass murders, rapes, and plunder, could be cleansed of their atrocities through a mere hand shake and a scribble of their initials on a piece of paper which purports to bind them to conditions that they have no intention of ever observing. ».

She added: « My challenge is to consolidate what has been achieved, to build on from it, and to answer victims’ calls for justice. That is the promise made in Rome and that is the promise we cannot fail to fulfil. ».

These declarations were made in the presence of FIDH member organisations working in States which situation is either under preliminary examination (as Colombia, Honduras or Guinea) or under investigation (as Sudan, DRC, Uganda, Cote d’Ivoire or Mali) before the ICC.

See the pictures of ICC’s President and Prosecutor during the 38th FIDH Congress.

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