Statement of Mr.Willy Claes Minister of Foreign Affairs

about the establishment of the International Permanent Court.

New York, september 27,1994

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So that this lesson may never be forgotten, Belgium favours the establishment of an international penal jurisdiction and expresses the wish that the international community does whatever is necessary to render it operational as soon as possible. In the meantime, we believe that the Tribunal convened to judge the war crimes perpetrated in former Yugoslavia will stand as a precious precedent, which we would like to see extended to the crimes committed in Rwanda as soon as possible.