Permanent Mission of Italy to the United Nations

New York, December 11, 1998

Statement By Ambassador Francesco Paolo Fulci

Mr. President,

Italy fully endorses the statement made by the Permanent Representative of Austria on behalf of the European Union, which gave a thorough outline of the EU policies, philosophy and actions in this crucial area. I wish to add only some complementary remarks on two human rights areas to which Italy feels especially committed.

Mr. President,

Italy is proud to have done its part to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, by hosting in Rome the Diplomatic Conference to Establish an International Criminal Court. We thought that the best way to honor the Declaration was to help the United Nations achieve a goal it had pursued for more than fifty years: the creation of a permanent judicial body to prosecute and punish the most serious crimes of international concern, wherever and by whomever committed. The Conference was a success, and the International Criminal Court is now a reality. Rome, with its millennial legal tradition, provided the ideal setting for this milestone toward defeating the culture of impunity for the most heinous violations of human rights and human dignity. Borders must no longer exist for such crimes.

While the text of the ICC Statute reflects compromise solutions on a number of crucial aspects, the Court is still a strong, effective and independent institution, capable of responding to the demand for justice in today's international society.

What is essential now is to make the new Tribunal start its work as soon as possible. We trust that the Preparatory Commission will promptly elaborate the instruments needed for the Statute. More importantly, the signatures and ratifications of the Statute must lead to its entry into force in the year 2000. We warmly congratulate all those Statute who have signed the Statute: By the end of this month they will be seventy-three. At the same time we urge all others to do the same.