COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

Fifty-fifth session

Provisional agenda item 18

Effective functioning of human rights mechanisms

Oral statement submitted by Transnational Radical Party, a non-governmental organisation in general consultative status

Delivered by Marina Sikora

Geneva, 21 April 1999

Mr. Chairperson,

This Commission seems to be condemned to a deep sense of frustration. We gather here every year, we deliver our speeches, circulate our statements, we voice our concerns. But is our message been heard by those to whom our documents and speeches refer to? Are we able to reach them? If we do no reach out to the world, we are not an effective mechanism for redress, nor an effective deterrent.

The credibility that this Commission has gained throughout the years is a powerful resource. We should take the best advantage of it. We believe that there are simple decisions that this Commission could already make to enhance its effectiveness without necessarily triggering a complex and more comprehensive set of institutional reforms. Simple decisions, but courageous and revolutionary. One of these is about information, information on the work of the Commission itself. The right to information is a key element in the field of human rights and civil liberties, and it is of paramount importance when the information concerns human rights themselves.

We believe that this Commission could start this process and set the path for other UN bodies and transnational institutions, revolutionizing the world-wide support for the preservation of freedom and the rule of law, the founding principles of the United Nations.

Mr. Chairperson,

We would now like to draw the Commission's attention on the most important achievement for the enforcement of human rights since the foundation of the UN: the adoption, on July 17, 1998, of the Statute of the first permanent International Criminal Court with jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and aggression. The adoption of the Rome Treaty indicates a new pattern for the international community, a revolutionary change from the law of force to the force of the law, from States accountability ,,which is mean so often impunity, to individual criminal responsibility.

The Transnational Radical Party urges UN Member States to ratify the ICC Treaty before the year 2000. Some countries object that they cannot ratify without adequate national legislation in a so short term. In fact, the process of entering into force of the ICC will start only after 60 ratifications. Therefore, States could decide to ratify now having one or two years for adjusting their national legislation before the ICC operating process starts. We believe that if the establishment of the Court will be recognized as a political priority by Member States, the goal of its entry into force could be achieved by the year 2000.

We would like to express our deep appreciation and satisfaction to the two first countries, that have promptly ratified the Treaty: Senegal and Trinidad and Tobago. Through this political choice they indicate the path to their regions, Africa and the Carribean, and to the entire international community.

The TRP, through its international campaign "No Peace Without Justice", is organizing conferences around the world and offering technical and judicial cooperation to Governments. We hope that all those countries that are living in dramatic conditions of armed conflicts and racial or political tension, could find, in ratifying the Rome Treaty, the possibility to give peace a concrete chance.

The Rome Treaty is indicating to us that if the international community wants, it is capable of creating institutions with universal jurisdiction over the most egregious crimes under international law.

Individuals must be made accountable. Genocide, Mr. Chairperson, does not just happen, it is not -as many would like us to believe- the result of ancient rivalries. Genocide is the result of a deliberate decision to gain power, or to stay in power, for the sake of power itself. This has been proven again and again before the international ad hoc tribunals established by the UN Security Council for Rwanda and for the former Yugoslavia. And when the planners and instigators of genocide remain in power, like in the case of Slobodan Milosevic, they are able to defy the international community and institutions such as the ICTY, by hindering their work, denying access to investigators, and continue their policy of repression and violation of the most fundamental rights.

The Transnational Radical Party urges all States to follow the yesterday's example of the UK Minister Robin Cook, giving to the ICTY the evidence they posses to indict Slobodan Milosevic for genocide and crimes against humanity. Only Member States' political will will make the International Tribunals an effective mechanism for the protection of human rights, allowing them to carry out their mandate effectively.

Thank you, Mr. Chairperson.