BRING TO JUSTICE WAR CRIMINALS NOW AND EVER

APPEAL TO THE MEMBERS OF THE UNITED NATIONS FOR THE ARREST OF INDICTED WAR CRIMINALS IN FORMER YUGOSLAVIA AND RWANDA AND FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

We, the undersigned,

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

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

- considering the necessity and urgency to create a rigorously objective and impartial international justice system in order to judge war crimes and crimes against humanity wherever they take place;

- considering that the Preparatory Committee appointed to draw up the Statute of the International Criminal Court ended its last session asking the UN General Assembly to convene the Founding Conference by the end of 1998;

- considering that in spite of this positive result, strong opposition continues from certain countries that must be overcome to ensure the establishment of a International Criminal Court;

- considering that the Italian government has already expressed its readiness to host the Court's founding plenipotentiary conference;

- recognizing the significant progress made in this area by the creation of ad hoc international tribunals on former Yugoslavia and Rwanda; a progress undermined, though, by the low number of indicted war criminals brought to justice so far;

LAUNCH A SOLEMN APPEAL TO THE MEMBERS OF THE UNITED NATIONS

to do their utmost to arrest and bring to justice indicted war criminals in former Yugoslavia and Rwanda;

to renew the mandate of the Preparatory Committee and to convene the founding plenipotentiary Conference for the establishment of the International Criminal Court by the end of 1998.