October 21, 1997

Statement by the Representative of the Netherlands on Behalf of the European Union.

Mr. Chairman,

I have the honour to take the floor on behalf of the European Union on agenda item 150, "Establishment of an International Criminal Court".

Mankind has never before had such an opportunity to establish a permanent international judicial body with jurisdiction over individuals who are suspected of committing exceptionally serious crimes of international concern. The negotiations on a draft text of the statute of the International Criminal Court are of historic significance and the world community has a particular responsibility to make use of the momentum generated over the past few years,

The European Union is encouraged by the ever-growing number of countries that actively support the establishment of the Court. The General Debate of the 52nd General Assembly gave proof of that. Distinguished representatives of States from all regions of the world attested to the importance of the establishment of the ICC. Similarly, we regard the spirit of cooperation among delegations during the meetings of the Prepcom as a clear sign of the willingness of the international community to overcome difficulties and find ways to reach agreement on the text of the statute of the Court.

Even as we speak today, people continue to be victims of perpetrators of the most heinous international crimes. The victims should be the centre of our attention as we engage in the creation of the Court.

Since the ILC submitted a draft of a Statute for an International Criminal Court to the General Assembly in 1994, the member States of the European Union have actively participated in the discussions in the Ad-Hoc Committee, the Preparatory Committee and in the Sixth Committee. During previous debates, the European Union already indicated what it regarded as the fundamental considerations underlying the establishment of an International Criminal Court. While there is no need to enumerate those considerations again, the EU would like to reaffirm that they reflect its position with respect to some of the main questions relating to the establishment of the Court. Such a court should be effective and able to stand the test of time. It should draw on the experience of the two ad-hoc Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda.

The European Union welcomed the decision by the General Assembly, as laid down in resolution 51/207 of 16 December 1996, to hold a Diplomatic Conference in 1998, with a view to finalizing and adopting a convention on the establishment of an International Criminal Court. It was of the opinion that the progress that had been made by the Prepcom until then justified that decision. Subsequent sessions of the Prepcom in February and August 1997 made further progress, notably on the issues of 'definition of crimes' and 'general principles of criminal law' and of 'complementarity and trigger mechanism' and 'procedural matters' respectively. The European Union appreciates and welcomes the results that were achieved, particularly on the crucial questions of complementarity and admissibility of cases before the Court.

It is furthermore recalled that notable progress was made on various other principal issues. In this regard, the European Union hopes that the continuation of the discussions on such difficult issues as the crime of aggression and, as regards procedural issues, the role of the Pre-Trial Chamber, win make it possible to reach consensus.

The European Union is confident that the result of the negotiations in past and future meetings of the Prepcom will lead to the finalization of a widely acceptable consolidated text of a convention to be submitted to the Conference.

The European Union reaffirms its support for the decision taken to hold the Diplomatic Conference in Rome and would like to repeat its gratitude to the Italian Government for its gracious and generous offer to host the Conference in June/July 1998. Rome is a most suitable venue for an occasion of such historic value.

Furthermore, the year 1998 is of symbolic value to the establishment of the International Criminal Court, as it marks the fiftieth anniversary of both the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Genocide Convention.

It is hoped that the Conference will be attended by the largest number of States possible so as to promote universal support for the Court. We encourage States to contribute voluntarily for this purpose to the Trustfund for the participation of the least developed countries, as by now a fair number of countries have done so already. It is in our view a bounden duty for all member States of the United Nations to work towards a successful outcome of the Rome Diplomatic Conference. We express the hope and confidence that it will be possible to reach the goal: to finalize and adopt in Rome a comprehensive and universal Convention on the establishment of the ICC.

In order for the Conference to be successful its Rules of Procedure should be considered during the Prepcom meeting in March/April 1998, so that a complete set of rules may be recommended to the Conference for adoption. We seek guidance from the Secretariat in the preparation of the text of the draft rules.

It is also important that representatives of relevant non-governmental organizations continue to play a meaningful role in the process of establishing an International Criminal Court. Many of them have, by their commitment and expertise contributed significantly and positively to the work.

In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, the European Union would like to express its gratitude for the energy that so many invest in the successful outcome of the Prepcom meetings. In particular of course we thank the Chairman of the Prepcom, Mr Adriaan Bos, whose wise guidance and sound judgement have contributed to many achievements so far. The members of the Secretariat, the members of the Bureau, the coordinators and indeed all the other participants at the meetings also deserve praise for their dedication to the cause. Together with them, the European Union is committed to giving further impetus to the process of establishing the ICC and to the elaboration and adoption of the statute of the International Criminal Court.