Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-07-03-Speech-3-171"

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"Mr President, I congratulate the Commission on its firm position; it has our full support. Mr Haarder, it is true that nothing is to be gained from regrets, but neither is anything to be gained from avoiding consideration of problems and concerns. The good news is that 76 States have ratified the Statute, but the bad news is this intolerable and intolerant attitude of the United States to the international system of justice which is aimed at putting an end to impunity. President Bush has waged a campaign of harassment against the Court and against the countries which have signed or ratified its statute, which is completely unacceptable. Only arrogance, ignorance and pride – the three things together – can explain a reaction like the one which has led the two Houses to approve the law we are talking about. It is outrageous. At least they have said that they will not invade the Netherlands. The Union, Parliament and all the European institutions must state as firmly as possible that we will not tolerate such arbitrary behaviour; not the invasion, but the arbitrary nature of the law itself. We must demand that the members of the United Nations Security Council defend the integrity of the new Court and we must prevent the United States from using its capacity for manoeuvre in the Security Council to undermine a text which they never liked, incorporating blanket protection for United States troops and civilian staff. The Statute of Rome is based on the principle of complementarity and offers every safeguard against the inappropriate use of the Court. I am sure that when it comes into operation some people will be reassured. We must urge the sensible members – as Commissioner Byrne called them – of the United States Congress and Senate to prevent the said law from entering into force. If they are not going to ratify the Statute, at least they should refrain from adopting measures to disturb or hinder its operation. The prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials, Benjamin B. Ferencz, said that there can be no peace without justice, no justice without law, and no meaningful law without courts to decide what is fair and legitimate in any particular circumstance. Millions of citizens the world over believe that this International Criminal Court responds to that aspiration. Let us not allow anybody to ruin it, not even the United States."@en1

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