WORLDWIDE PARLIAMENTARY APPEAL TO THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL SECRETARY, BOUTROS BOUTROS GHALI, AND TO THE MEMBERS OF THE PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT.

We, the undersigned, Parliamentarians from around the world,

- considering the rising number of war crimes and crimes against humanity being perpetrated throughout the world and which remain unpunished;

- drawing attention to Amnesty International's annual report on July 5, 1995, whereby public officials are responsible for summary executions in 54 countries, in 34 states some prisoners died following tortures inflicted by public officials while rape is increasingly being used as a war instrument.

- considering that an ever-broadening public opinion is realizing the necessity that the perpetrators of these crimes be brought to justice;

- considering the necessity and urgency to create a rigorously objective and impartial international justice system for the arbitration of, above all, war crimes and crimes against humanity regardless of their origin;

- considering that during the 50th session of the United Nations General Assembly, it was formally decided that a Preparatory Committee would take on the responsibility of finalizing the Statute of the International Tribunal so that, in 1996, the United Nations may convene the Founding Conference of the Permanent International Criminal Court;

- underlining significant progress in this area made by the creation of ad hoc international courts to try those responsable for war crimes and crimes against humanity, and pleased already that capital punishment is not contemplated in the Statutes of the ad hoc tribunals nor in the project of the Statute of the Permanent Court.

- considering that the Italian government has already offered its willingness and availability to host the Tribunal's founding plenipotentiary conference;

LAUNCH A SOLEMN APPEAL

because, barring any obstacles, the Preparatory Committee can formalize definite preparations for the Court's Statute by the end of its two work sessions in New York in March and August of 1996; and make the decision to convene a Founding Plenipotentiary Conference by the 51st General Assembly of the United Nations.

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