1 December 1997

UNITED NATIONS

At a Headquarters press conference this morning, the European Union

Humanitarian Affairs Commissioner, Emma Bonino, appealed for the

establishment of a permanent international criminal court. She was joined by

the President of Trinidad and Tobago, Arthur Napoleon Raymond Robinson, and

by the Minister of Justice of Senegal, Jacques Baudin.

Ms. Bonino said that the group at the press conference was part of a broader

delegation that included non-governmental organizations and parliamentarians

worldwide. Members of the delegation were scheduled to meet this morning

with the President of the General Assembly, Hennadiy Udovenko, and later

today with Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The purpose of the meetings was to

present the signed appeals that had been collected from around the world in

support of the establishment of a permanent criminal court.

(The fifth session of the Preparatory Committee on the Establishment of an

International Criminal Court -- charged by a General Assembly resolution

(50/46) with the task of drafting a text of a convention for an

international criminal court -- opened today at Headquarters and will

conclude Friday, 12 December.)

Ms. Bonino said that delegation members had lobbied parliamentarians,

politicians, and public opinion and, for the second year, the General

Assembly was expected to confirm the convening of the United Nations

conference of plenipotentiaries in Rome from 15 June to 17 July 1998. That

meeting was the result of a lengthy campaign and she hoped that the

participants would be in a position to "finally" create "a fair and

effective criminal court". The campaign had been marked by several

conferences -- in Malta, Paris and Brussels -- with the next conference

scheduled for February in Dakar, Senegal.

All efforts were being made to have an effective criminal court by June, she

added. The appeal had been published today in some major newspapers. She

strongly believed that impunity must be stopped, since it was one of the

major causes of humanitarian crises worldwide. Although some major political

problems remained in the work of the Preparatory Committee, the combination

of public opinion and institutional efforts would hopefully result in the

court's establishment.

President Robinson said that the appeal represented a "very broad spectrum"

of world opinion. On board were parliamentarians from more than 60

countries, as well as a whole range of non-governmental organizations,

international organizations, and individuals. The appeal harnessed global

sentiment on a matter involving atrocious crimes. Those crimes were

routinely viewed by children and their families via television in their

living rooms.

The appeal focused not only on the world's conscience, but "on the will of

the international community to do something about it, and to do something

about it this century", he continued. It focused attention on efforts not

only in this century, but next year's diplomatic conference in Rome. He

sought to mobilize as much opinion as possible in support of the court's

establishment. Further, he wanted to bring to the attention of the decision

makers that they had a tremendous trust and responsibility to discharge at

the conference. Asked which countries had voiced strong opposition to the

court's establishment, Ms. Bonino said it was no secret that during the work

of the Preparatory Committee some Member States -- China, for example -- had

voiced resistance to the idea. Other countries were in favour of the court,

but still had some major political problems that needed to be settled. Even

within the European Union, which was generally very much in favour of the

court, France, for instance, had certain problems. It was also no secret

that the United States was claiming it had some major problems, namely the

relationship between the Security Council and the court. It was possible

that the problem could be solved at the conference in June. Despite such

concerns, Ms. Bonino said that the idea of a permanent court was gaining

momentum. It became more and more difficult for Member States that resisted

it to "say no". She hoped that in the next six months of campaigning, more

and more Member States would "come on board". A correspondent, highlighting

another unresolved issue, asked whether the European Union had any idea how

the court should be financed. Ms. Bonino said that the financing aspect was

one of the issues to be debated in the Preparatory Committee. The general

consensus was not to have the court fall under the normal United Nations

budget, but to finance it through a trust fund. The financing shortage had

been one of the major obstructions to the establishment of the International

Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, set up in 1993. The financing

issue must be settled, she said. Asked whether there were additional offers

besides the one made by the Netherlands to host the court in The Hague, Ms.

Bonino said that not to her knowledge. To a further question about the

timing of the court's convening, Ms. Bonino said that time would tell

whether the forthcoming diplomatic conference in Rome would result in

signatures by Member States. Ratification procedures would then follow.

Optimistically, a permanent court would not be in place until early in 2002

or 2003. President Robinson said that he agreed with that assessment,

adding that it could never be anticipated how long the ratification stage

would take. It was, therefore, necessary to continue to mobilize and express

opinion, so that the decision makers did not escape their responsibility. It

was very important that the convention be approved next year. Following

approval and given the situations in the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Cambodia

and others that might possibly occur, there would be more pressure to

implement the court.