Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-02-27-Speech-3-116"
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"en.20020227.7.3-116"2
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"Mr President, I am delighted to be able to appear before Parliament today to present the President-in-Office of the Council’s position with regard to the steps the European Union is taking to bring about the forthcoming establishment of the International Criminal Court.
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, as you know, the preparatory work for the establishment of the International Criminal Court is now at a very advanced stage. Upon the basis of the Statute adopted in Rome in 1998, the preparatory committee has laid down the majority of the instruments that the Court will need to be able to function effectively. In this process, which is undoubtedly of a technical nature but with fundamental scope and importance, EU States continue to play a very important role, I would even dare to say a leading role, in the collective work that has been carried out by countries worldwide. And, even more importantly, the process of ratification of the Rome Statute is advancing at an even faster pace than we could have hoped for. Whilst in the Rome Diplomatic Conference 120 States voted for its adoption, the Treaty has been signed by a total of 139 States, that is to say, an overwhelming majority of the international community. As you already know, 60 ratifications or signatories are needed for the Statute to enter into force and consequently for the International Criminal Court to be set up. At this stage there have been 52 ratifications, which leads us to believe that we will get the 60 ratifications needed within the next few months. I would even dare to say that this will certainly take place before the end of the Spanish Presidency.
As you are all aware, all the Member States of the European Union have ratified the Statute or have implemented the necessary constitutional mechanisms for it to be ratified in the very near future. We firmly believe that all the Member States will be amongst those countries which, with their participation in the assembly of signatory States, whose first meeting could take place this very year, will implement those concrete decisions which pave the way for the effective operation of the Court.
In accordance with the common position adopted in the Council of 11 June 2001, the European Union urges all States that have not ratified or signed up to the Statute to do so as soon as possible, so that the International Criminal Court can be established in the near future. I would like to point out that recently 15 candidate or associate countries have adopted the common position and are closely cooperating with us on this commitment. It is also appropriate to highlight the work that is being carried out in this regard by a large number of non-governmental organisations, frequently with the assistance and cooperation of the European Union.
In accordance with this appeal, the European Union has been making representations to third countries and groups of countries in order that they can speed up the internal procedures necessary to ratify the Statute as soon as possible. These representations have been accompanied, in certain cases, by offers of technical assistance in this field. In the next few weeks we intend to intensify these representations on various continents with the aim not only of achieving the swift entry into force of the Statute, but also to ensure that the assembly of signatory States reflects as accurately as possible the varied composition of the international community.
In fact, the legitimacy and effectiveness of the Court will crucially depend on its composition and the support it receives being interpreted as a genuine reflection of the international community as a whole. It is extremely important that all continents and all legal systems are duly represented in the Court and that this includes lawyers of both sexes as specified in the Rome Statute.
The search for this wide-ranging support for the Court should inspire our efforts. We feel encouraged in our commitment by the fact that the ratifications that have already been registered and those that will take place in the very near future are from States on all continents, predominantly European, African and Latin American States so far, with different legal systems and levels of economic and social development. No one can say that the International Criminal Court is going to be a Court simply for the Western world or developed countries. It will be a legal institution for the whole international community, fully independent and linked to the United Nations system.
It is important to point out that all countries, whether they have signed the Statute or not, can play an active role in the process of establishing the International Criminal Court through their participation in the work of the preparatory committee and then, if they so desire, as observers in the assembly of signatory States. And the doors will always be open to any country that wants to ratify or sign up to the Statute at a later date. In this regard, the European Union has maintained a constant and sustained dialogue with several countries harbouring doubts, some of which are our closest allies – I am referring, in particular, to the United States – and we will remain ready to continue these exchanges, with the aim of clarifying respective positions and promoting a favourable atmosphere for cooperation in the future.
It is obvious that this task will not come to a conclusion with the entry into force of the Statute and the decisions that will be adopted in the next meeting of the assembly of signatory States. We will need to take all of the necessary measures so that the establishment of this new institution in its permanent headquarters in the Hague will be as quick and efficient as possible. The preparatory committee and the host country, the Netherlands, are already preparing for the implementation of these measures and the European Union is cooperating with them. Next, we will have to develop and strengthen all the mechanisms that will help the new institution in order to guarantee its effectiveness both in its headquarters and on the ground. The experience of the courts for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda have taught us that international criminal justice, in order to be effective, needs to be equipped with considerable human, material and operational resources. The Court, with its potentially universal scope, will require no less. It will certainly require more. Within this context, the European Union and its Member States will have to be prepared to give any assistance that may prove necessary.
Furthermore, the Court, whose proceedings will be governed by the principles of complementarity and cooperation with national legal systems, will only be able to operate effectively if it can rely upon the cooperation of the judicial and administrative authorities of the States. This means that a very substantial proportion of the implementation of the Statute will consist of the adoption of measures on a national level to make this cooperation possible. This corresponds to each State in accordance with their constitutional practices, but the European Union can help in this process through the exchange of information and, when appropriate, the offer of technical assistance to countries that need it.
All of this is taking place on the basis of the common position adopted in June 2001, which I mentioned earlier, which, if necessary, could be supplemented by a more detailed action plan or, when appropriate, through an updating or refining of its terms depending on the progress of the process. I can assure you, ladies and gentlemen, that the Presidency-in-Office of the Council will pay very close attention to the ideas that arise from this debate when it comes to taking decisions.
The European Union has firmly supported the historic project to establish a permanent international criminal jurisdiction with universal scope. The European Parliament is well aware of this fact since it has always been on the front line in promoting the European Union’s efforts to achieve this essential objective for human rights and justice.
Mr President, we share a firm commitment to supporting the swift and efficient establishment of the International Criminal Court as an independent and impartial institution devoted to carrying out justice in the worst cases of violations of human rights and humanitarian law throughout the world. In this regard, all of us, the European Parliament, the Council, Member States and the Commission, are closely united and committed to continuing to act with determination and tenacity. This conviction, this determination, is what has allowed the European Union to play an unquestionably leading role in this process, together with other countries characterised by their attachment to democracy and human rights.
We are very close to achieving our objective through the entry into force of the Rome Statute and the establishment of the Court. This will provide us with a ‘before’ and an ‘after’ in the history of humanity’s effort to introduce justice throughout the world. We will therefore be able to feel proud of Europe’s contribution to this progress in the international community, but we will by no means be able to rest on our laurels, for this will be the moment at which we have to move on to the next stage in this struggle for justice, in which Europe will again have an indispensable role to play. I am sure, Mr President, that we will lack neither the will nor the consistency to be able to persevere in our commitment, and, for this reason, I believe I will always be able to count on the support of this Parliament.
I would, however, like to state once again that the establishment of the International Criminal Court is an important component of the European Union’s external policy, and consequently a feature of the programme of the Spanish Presidency. The European Union particularly welcomes the imminent achievement of this objective, which we have been waiting for such a long time and which we are all confident will take place this year.
We cannot overstate the importance of the establishment of this Court, which so many legal experts, defenders of human rights and political leaders have been fighting for, and it is now truly within our reach. It will be a triumph for all humanity which is due, in no small measure, to the determined and consistent action of the European Union.
Our collective experience on this continent, which has been involved in conflicts and horrors throughout the last century, makes Europeans particularly sensitive to the absolute need to develop and affirm international criminal justice as an instrument of service to human rights and humanitarian standards worldwide. It can be a surprise to nobody, therefore, that European States and the European Union are at the forefront of this movement in support of the International Criminal Court, a court that will be truly universal, independent and efficient.
The European Union is absolutely convinced that the establishment of the International Criminal Court will represent a huge step forward for the whole world. When serious crimes are committed that are an affront to civilised society as a whole, when common values are attacked head on, the international community must act with the full force of the law. We need to enthusiastically and appropriately punish the most serious violations of human rights and international law, using the mechanisms agreed upon within the international community for this purpose.
The International Criminal Court will be a powerful tool in this fight for justice and against impunity for the most heinous crimes – war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. In a wider context, the establishment of the International Criminal Court is part of a movement characterised by the evolution of our world in recent times; the emergence and consolidation of an international criminal justice system that pursues particularly heinous crimes beyond the borders of our States, because these crimes are a serious threat to the security of all citizens worldwide. In such cases, which affect us all, we have to call upon either national criminal justice systems, through mechanisms which closely cooperate with one other, or properly constituted international criminal tribunals such as those created for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, set up by the Security Council, or in the near future by the International Criminal Court itself.
The trial of ex-President Slobodan Milosevic in the Hague which has recently started is just one more example of this tendency that is gathering more momentum throughout the world, for this is what world-wide public opinion demands, and because it has to be seen as the logical conclusion of the current process of globalisation.
The most important thing is that we are winning the battle against this culture of impunity, a culture based upon silence and amnesia, which is being replaced by a culture in which we demand that those responsible for heinous crimes be brought to justice. In the same way, we are moving away from the attitude of turning a blind eye to crimes committed against a neighbour to one where we are involved and look for effective means to act and cooperate with each other in order to deal with these intolerable situations. This does not mean seeking revenge or retaliation, but to ensure that justice prevails as an essential condition for long-lasting peace and reconciliation in every situation where there has been serious conflict."@en1
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