New York, October 22, 1998
Item 153: Establishment of an International Criminal Court
Statement by His Excellency Mr. Anwarul Karim Chowdhury, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations on Agenda Item 153: Establishment of International Criminal Court at the Sixth (Legal) Committee of the fifty-third session of the United Nations General Assembly
New York, 21 October 1998
Mr. Chairman,
A landmark was laid in the history of humankind with the adoption of the Statute of the International Criminal Court in the United Nations Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries in July, appropriately in the eternal city of Rome. This represents a giant leap in our path to a higher level of human civilization which promises establishment of justice and human rights on the world scale.
The Statute is the fruit of painstaking negotiations by the delegations in the Preparatory Committee and the Rome Conference. We thank all those delegates, and representatives from various organizations, non-governmental organizations and other entities represented at the Rome Conference. I wish to pay our special tributes to the key personalities of the Rome Conference---Professor Giovanni Conso, President and his country, Italy for hosting the Conference, Dr. Philippe Kirsch, Chairman of the Committee of the Whole, and Professor Cherif Bassiouni, Chairman of the Drafting Committee and, of course, Dr. Adriaan Bos who led the preparatory process---for guiding the Conference to a successful conclusion. Bangladesh also takes pride in participating in, and serving as one of the Vice-Presidents of, the Conference. Bangladesh is also a signatory to the Final Act of the Rome Conference.
Mr. Chairman,
Bangladesh, itself a victim of genocide during her liberation struggle, has a particular interest in seeing progress in the establishment of a permanent International Criminal Court that would deter such heinous crimes in future. Bangladesh believes in unfettered and non-discriminatory justice which cannot be denied under any pretext. Bangladesh has great satisfaction in that the Statute discards the age-old concept of impunity under the shield of state. It is true that Bangladesh wished to have an International Criminal Court that would be more independent and having jurisdictions over such crimes as use of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction. In spite of its short-comings, Bangladesh believes that, if allowed to work in its full capacity in accordance with the present Statute, the Court has a great potential in promoting human rights around the world. Bangladesh would always be ready to cooperate with the Court in dispensation of justice.
Mr. Chairman,
The work on the establishment of the International Criminal Court has yet to finish. The Secretary-General in his Note (document A/53/387) draws our attention to the Resolution F of the Conference, which established the Preparatory Commission for the International Criminal Court. Bangladesh delegation would be happy to work in the Preparatory Commission. We believe that Preparatory Commission should be convened no later than the first trimester of the year 1999. We also feel that draft texts of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence and of the Elements of Crimes should be finalized before 30 June 2000. We support the clause in the Resolution F requesting the Secretary-General to provide all the services and assistance that would be required by the Preparatory Commission.
Bangladesh delegation thanks the contributors to the trust fund that supported participation of LDC delegates in the Preparatory Committee and Conference of Plenipotentiaries for establishment of the International Criminal Court. In this regard, we call for establishment of a similar trust fund for participation by the LDC delegates in the Preparatory Commission.
Mr. Chairman,
We have come a long way toward the establishment of the International Criminal Court. Let us hope that we maintain our firm resolve so that the Court comes into existence within the year 2000.
I thank you, Mr. Chairman.
