November 2, 1995

Statement by Counsellor Marja Lehto

...To reaffirm our commitment to the joint project before us we would wish to refer to the speech of the Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ms. Tarja Halonen before the General Assembly last September. She stated unequivocally that Finland supports the early establishment of a permanent international criminal court.

In order to maintain the positive momentum we should now proceed from a general exchange of views to the next phase in the preparation of a Diplomatic Conference for the adoption by States of a convention on an International Criminal Court. We wish therefore to reiterate the proposal made by Spain on behalf of the European Union that a preparatory committee be established with the mandate to discuss and draft texts that would - within a reasonable time-frame - lead to a consolidated text of a draft Convention. It is our firm view that the convening of such a conference should not be unduly delayed.

To facilitate the effective functioning of the preparatory committee, we consider it important to agree in advance on its work programme for the next year as well as on the issues to which the respective sessions of the Preparatory Committee would be devoted. We share the view according to which there should be a possibility of holding a number of sessions of short duration concentrated on specific issues. Such an approach would guarantee better preparation among delegations and is more likely to produce concrete results. my delegation is prepared to take actively part in the further work required for the early establishment of an international criminal court.