Mr. Danilo Quinto
Transnational Radical Party
Centre De Coordination De Bruxelles
97-113 Rue Belliard
1047 Bruxelles
Dear Mr. Quinto,
I refer to your recent letter to the Minister for Foreign Affairs to which I am now responding on his behalf You have requested support for an appeal that certain resolutions be passed by the 52nd UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council concerning the establishment of an International Criminal Court and to bring to trial certain war criminals.
Ireland is firmly committed to the establishment of an International Criminal Court. This commitment has been reiterated on many occasions in the various relevant fora, including at the UN General Assembly. Ireland recognises that there is a growing acceptance throughout the international community that violations of humanitarian law constitute a threat to international peace and security. In light of the proliferation of heinous offences in the world, Ireland feels that the case for the establishment of a permanent International Criminal Court is stronger than ever. It is only through such a body that the international community can effectively demonstrate that massive human rights violations must never go unpunished.
The text of the resolution forwarded with your letter asks the members of the UN General Assembly to vote in favour of the formal convocation of a Diplomatic Conference in Rome in 1998. However, it was already decided at the 51st(1996) General Assembly to hold a Diplomatic Conference in 1998 with a view to finalising and adopting a Convention on the establishment of an International Criminal Court.
The second paragraph of the text of the resolution presented with your letter relates to the modification of the SFOR mandate. This would be a matter for the UN Security Council and Ireland is not, in fact, represented on that Council.
Finally, you can be assured that Ireland will continue to work, in the future as it has in the past, both at the remaining meetings of the Preparatory Committee and at the Diplomatic Conference
in 1998 for the establishment of an International Criminal Court which will constitute a powerful and impartial instrument of justice.
Yours sincerely,
James McIntyre
Private Secretary
