Permanent Mission of Australia

to the United Nations

Statement

By Ms. Cate Steains

For the Australian Delegation

Sixth Committee

54th Session United Nations General Assembly

Agenda Item: 158

Establishment of an International Criminal Court

New York 20 October 1999

Mr Chairman

I have the honour to make this statement on behalf of the following members of the South Pacific Forum which maintain Permanent Missions to the United Nations in New York: Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and my own country, Australia.

As we stand on the threshold of the next millennium, it is fitting to observe that the adoption of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in July last year represented the commitment of the international community to pursue in the twenty-first century the defense of the principles of humanitarian law and human rights developed since the foundation of the United Nations in 1945. The adoption of the Statute heralded an era of renewed hope for a world in which gross violations of international law would not be tolerated - it sent a strong message to potential perpetrators that the world was not going to stand by silently and watch the commission of crimes of the most serious international concern, such as genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. And we have reason to believe that the establishment of the Court will make a material difference to the conduct of human affairs. Not only will it function as a trial court to bring to justice perpetrators of the worst crimes of international con

cern, it should also be an incentive to nations to honour the commitments and obligations under international law to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. We have placed ourselves on notice.

As we all know, however, the adoption of the International Criminal Court Statute was not the end of the story. Rather, important details of the Court's

operation were left to be dealt with in the Preparatory Commission phase - the important phase of intensive negotiations required in order to make the Court a functioning reality. This year has seen two fruitful sessions of the Preparatory Commission take place. Our countries wish to express our appreciation to the

Chairman of the Preparatory Commission, Ambassador Philippe Kirsch, for his excellent leadership, and to the other members of the Bureau for their tireless efforts to ensure that the Preparatory Commission made steady progress towards achieving its objectives. In particular, we wish to pay tribute to the outstanding work of Ms Silvia Fernandez, who chaired the Working Group on Rules of Procedure and Evidence, and Mr. Herman von Hebel, who chaired the Working Group on Elements of Crimes. We also wish to acknowledge the vital role played by the Secretariat, and the important contribution made by many of

the Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs).

Notwithstanding the determined efforts and hard work evidenced in the Preparatory Commission over the past twelve months, however, a great deal of work remains to be done. The work of the Preparatory Commission must therefore continue to be accorded a high priority in the work of the Sixth Committee, and a strong commitment must be made in respect of the allocation of resources. We would envisage three sessions of three weeks' duration being required next year in order for the Preparatory Commission to be able to carry out its mandate. Given that Resolution F requires the Rules of Procedure and Evidence and the Elements of Crimes to be completed by June 2000, we would implore the Preparatory Commission to accord absolute priority to the completion of this work during its first two sessions. Only once this work has been completed

can States truly be in a position to focus their efforts on the other important issues that need to be resolved, such as the definition and elements of the crime of aggression.

While the amount of work to be accomplished before June 2000 is rather daunting - and will require States to dedicate themselves to working together intensively towards this end - this should not be cause for undue pessimism about the prospects for completion of our work. We should all derive great confidence from the spirit of cooperation that prevailed during the Preparatory Commission this year and by the commitment of delegations to continue to pursue the Court's establishment as soon as possible. We all recall that at the Diplomatic Conference in particular, many issues were inherently difficult and elicited

strongly divergent views, and yet through hard work and cooperation we achieved the creation of the Statute. We must now forge ahead in that same spirit of cooperation with determination to complete the work of the Preparatory Commission.

Our countries welcome the fact that 88 States have now signed the International Criminal Court Statute. We acknowledge that some of the members of the South

Pacific Forum have not signed the Statute as yet, but these members are seriously studying their internal domestic procedures and legislation in order to facilitate their signature. We encourage other States who have not yet

signed the Statute to do so as soon as possible. While it may appear disappointing to some that only four States have ratified the Statute - far short of the sixty ratifications required for its entry into force - we need to recognise tthat the Statute is a complex treaty that will require States to be

fully apprised of the various legislative changes required in order fully to implement relevant obligations into their domestic law. In the case of many of the South Pacific countries, our domestic treaties procedures require us, among other things, to have our implementing legislation in place before we can move to formal ratification. While this is an involved and resource-intensive process, we are committed to working towards the goal of becoming parties to

the Statute. To this end, we see merit in the possibility of developing, on a regional basis, model legislation that can be adapted to the individual needs of

countries in the region. While discussions on this type of regional cooperation are still very much in their embryonic stages, we are in general agreement that it would seem a practical way for us to share useful legislative and procedural information, particularly given the fact that we all share the common law tradition.

To achieve this goal, however, technical assistance will be required to facilitate the necessary legislative processes in many small countries of our region.

Mr Chairman

The adoption of the Statute of the International Criminal Court represented the international community's recognition of the injustice suffered by the many

thousands of victims of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes this century, and of the need to end the culture of impunity. Equally significantly, it represented a firm commitment to strive for justice and respect for human rights in the future. The International Criminal Court will have a profound effect on the lives of ordinary people. As all too recent events in the

former Yugoslavia, Sierra Leone and Rwanda remind us, its establishment is urgently needed. We now carry the responsibility of reinforcing the message sent out by the Statute's adoption that we are serious about the rights of

victims to see justice done, and about our commitment to deter potential perpetrators of international crimes in the future. The most effective way to

reinforce this message will be the expeditious completion of the Preparatory Commission's mandate, and the Statute's eventual entry into force. Our countries stand ready to contribute fully to these important goals.

Thank you, Mr Chairman.