Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-09-25-Speech-3-149"
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"en.20020925.6.3-149"2
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"Madam President, President-in-Office of the Council, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, many people have described the International Criminal Court Statute as the most important international document since the United Nations Charter. We Radicals have believed this for many years, and for many years we have fought, as we are continuing to do now, to bring this Court to birth and to see it grow and gradually acquire universal jurisdiction and be recognised by as many countries as possible.
Many Members have spoken, indeed almost the entire debate has been on the issue of the United States, but I would also point out that many of the world’s largest countries – China, Russia, India, Indonesia, the entire Arab world with the welcome exception of Jordan, and almost all of Asia with very few exceptions – have yet to sign on the dotted line. There is therefore a great deal of work still to do. Of course, it is right to concern ourselves with the issue of the United States, with its attempt to obtain exemption and, in particular, a sort of immunity for its citizens with a diplomatic offensive, but I want to stress here that the European Union must direct its greatest endeavours – and the action plan endorsed by the Council and the Commission’s work are important in this respect – towards ensuring that the Court has that universal jurisdiction which will guarantee its authority and status and which will also, indeed, show those who are openly against it like the US administration that, maybe one day, under another administration, their country might change direction. Proof of this is the fact that, a few days ago, the former President, Bill Clinton, was publicly criticised for failing to achieve ratification of the Rome Statute when he was President.
This is important: it is important that the Council adopts a position which gives due consideration to the importance of preserving the Statute in its entirety, that, should a compromise be reached with the United States, it takes into account the question of non-reciprocity – the need for guilty citizens or, at any rate, citizens who have been accused of a crime, to be tried before the US Courts in any case – and, most importantly, that it takes into account the fact that any exception must be restricted, where appropriate, to military and civilian staff sent on mission by the United States and must not be extended, as the United States is requesting, to all US citizens indiscriminately, for this would be absolutely unacceptable and intolerable."@en1
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