Report of the International Criminal Court

Mr. President,
Argentina expresses its appreciation and recognition to the President of the International Criminal Court Sang-Hyun SONG for the introduction of the Report of the Court to the General Assembly (A/67/308 and its Addendum).
The Rome Statute and the International Criminal Court are of the most notable achievements of multilateral diplomacy, and their contribution to the fight against impunity regarding crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes is evident. Only a decade after the adoption of the Rome Statute the Court is a fully-functioning permanent international criminal tribunal.
This year finds the Rome Statute and the ICC much stronger. To date, 121 States are Parties to the Statute. I would like to welcome Guatemala.
The other reason to be gratified for is the ratification of the amendments to the Rome Statute by Liechtenstein and Samoa.
Regarding the amendments to the Rome Statute, the modification of article 8 added certain crimes to the war crimes committed in the context of armed conflicts not of an international character. Such amendments entail a step forward in the fight against impunity regarding breaches of international humanitarian law.
But the crime of aggression is the amendment that determined the historic significance of the 2010 Kampala Review Conference, as with the adoption by consensus of the definition of the crime and the conditions for the exercise of the jurisdiction of the Court we fulfilled the mandate of the now deleted paragraph 2 of article 5 of the Rome Statute regarding the crime of aggression.
The Court will be able to exercise its jurisdiction regarding the commission of crime of aggression one year after the ratification or acceptance of the amendments by 30 States Parties and after the Parties, from 2017, adopt the decision to “activate” the exercise of jurisdiction of the Court in accordance with the amendment.
States Parties must commit ourselves to ratifying the amendments adopted in Kampala as soon as possible. Argentina is actively working in its internal process with a view to ratifying the amendments as soon as possible. We are pleased that other States Parties are also in this process.
Mr President,
The year 2012 marks the tenth anniversary of the entry into force of the Statute, and, therefore, of the establishment of the International Criminal Court. The Court is today a mature permanent tribunal, and the center of the criminal justice system of the international community.
We would like to pay tribute to the negotiators of the Rome Statute from all countries, because they gave birth to the great contribution to the rule of law that is the ICC, to the first Prosecutor, Mr. Luis Moreno-Ocampo, and to the present and past Judges, for their courage and commitment to the fight against impunity.
At this tenth anniversary, the international community must recognize the value of the Court and also take stock of aspects regarding which the UN Member States must improve our performance.
As time elapsed since the entry into force of the Rome Statute, the need for accountability for Rome Statute crimes has been incorporated in a tangible manner in the work of the United Nations and of the international community in general, and the Security Council has also incorporated the ICC in its considerations on concrete situations.
All this has strengthened the fight against impunity. But at the same time there some challenges we need to face:
Mutual cooperation between the United Nations and the ICC is crucial, always respecting the judicial independence of the Court. The question of “non essential contacts” with persons regarding which the ICC has issued arrest warrants has to be part of the cooperation provided for in the Relationship Agreement.
But the fundamental element for the ability of the ICC to fully fulfill its mandate is cooperation by States. A permanent international justice system requires cooperation by all Member States of the United Nations. All Member States –Parties and non Parties to the Rome Statute- must cooperate with the Court, and that obligation is particularly relevant with regard to arrest warrants.
Regarding referrals made by the Security Council, Argentina believes the Council cannot just take note of the reports of the Prosecutor or the Court without doing a follow-up of compliance with the obligation to cooperate with the Court or of situations on the ground, such as the detention of ICC staff some months ago. Argentina is convinced that the establishment of some follow-up mechanism of situations referred to the Court would substantially contribute to the responsible collaboration of the Council with the ICC.
Mr. President,
Other issues are of concern to my delegation. One is the clause that, as part of the two referrals already made, seeks to exempt nationals of Non States Parties to the Rome Statute from the jurisdiction of the Court for acts or omissions derived from operations established or authorized by the Security Council or related to them. This can entail the weakening of the power of the Court to make justice in an independent and impartial manner through the action of a political organ that seeks to create an exception not provided for in the Rome Statute. It can also affect the credibility of the Security Council and of the ICC itself.
The other concern -also part of both referrals- refers to an aspect that can seriously impact the Court. When establishing that none of the expenses derived from both referrals will be defrayed by the United Nations but by the States Parties to the Rome Statute, the Council does not respect article 115 b) of the Rome Statute and article 13 of the Relationship Agreement. With an increasing number of cases, the pressure on the resources available to the Court has intensified; in practical terms, not addressing the financing of the referrals could threaten the long term viability of the Court. Argentina wishes to emphasize that the fight against impunity is an objective both of States Parties to the Rome Statute and the United Nations. But that objective must be accompanied by the commitment of providing the Court the necessary means to fulfill its mandate. It is not a commitment alien to the Council, as it has addressed it with regard to the ad hoc tribunals established by the Security Council. We must now address it with regard to the ICC. Inaction regarding the financial resources to be provided to the ICC by virtue of article 115 of the Statute would only negatively impact the current cases before the Court and proprio motu action by the Prosecutor.
Mr. President,
In this year 2012, which marks the tenth anniversary of the International Criminal Court, Argentina would like to reiterate, once again, that the Court represents one of the most notable contributions to the fight against impunity, and I would like to remind “the noble mission and the role of the International Criminal Court in a multilateral system that aims to end impunity, establish the rule of law, promote and encourage respect for human rights and achieve sustainable peace, in accordance with international law and the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations” , as well as the firm commitment of Argentina to the International Criminal Court.
Thank you