BRITISH GOVERMENT SUPPORTS ESTABLISHMENT OF AN INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

4 August 1997

Press Release

The Government of the United Kingdom has declared strong support for the

establishment of an international criminal court. In his speech on 17 July

1997 entitled "Human Rights into a new Century" the Secretary of State for

Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Robin Cook, said:

"Britain will support the proposal for a permanent international criminal

court. The current Tribunals on Rwanda and on the former Yugoslavia have

demonstrated the need for the legal mechanism to bring to justice those who

brutally break international law. A permanent international criminal court

would enable that work to begin more speedily when it is next required;

would remove the need for an ad hoc decision that authorised legal

processes with respect to a particular country; and would enable its

lawyers to retain expertise and authority in this specialised field".

In a debate in the House of Lords on 28 July 1997 on the United Nations,

the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Baroness Symons said:

"The Secretary-General strongly supports the establishment [of the court];

so do we. There is a clear need for an international legal mechanism to

bring to justice those who commit the worst violations of international law

genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. We support the holding

of a diplomatic conference next year. In the meantime our delegation will

play an active part in discussions at the preparatory committee which

resumes next week."

Notes for Editors

The new session of the Preparatory Committee on the Establishment of an

International Criminal Court will meet from Monday 4 August until Friday 15

August at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

The United Kingdom supports a permanent international criminal court as a

means of upholding international law and bringing to justice those who

break it.

The United Kingdom delegation to the Preparatory Committee will be composed

of representatives from the United Kingdom Mission to the United Nations,

the Home Office and the Ministry of Defence.