ICC President presents annual report to the United Nations General Assembly in Court’s tenth anniversary year
On 1 November 2012, the President of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Judge Sang-Hyun Song presented the Court’s annual report to the United Nations General Assembly in New York (USA).
“At ten years old, the ICC […] is the centrepiece of a new justice paradigm, joined by 121 States that have decided to bolster their national jurisdictions with an international court of last resort in order to prevent impunity for the gravest crimes known to humankind”, President Song stated. “This achievement would not have been possible without the formative role of the United Nations, and specifically the General Assembly, in the history of the International Criminal Court”.
ICC President Song provided the Assembly with an update on key institutional developments and judicial proceedings since his last report in October 2011. The ICC now counts with a new Prosecutor, six new judges and a new President of the Assembly of States Parties. The Court is conducting investigations in seven situations – the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda, the Central African Republic (CAR), Darfur (Sudan), Kenya, Libya and Côte d’Ivoire. In addition, Mali referred the situation in the country to the ICC, and the Prosecutor is conducting a preliminary examination to determine whether the criteria for opening an investigation are fulfilled. Sixteen cases have been brought before the Court. Five are currently at the trial stage and one at the appeals stage. The Trust Fund for Victims continued its work with victims in northern Uganda and the DRC and is planning to undertake programmes in the CAR.
But with 12 pending requests for arrest and surrender of suspects, the ICC critically needs the cooperation and support of states and international organisations, including the United Nations. “Without the assistance of States, the ICC cannot perform its mandate effectively,” President Song stressed. “The international community – including the General Assembly – has on multiple occasions declared its determination to end impunity for the gravest crimes. Cooperation with the ICC is a concrete way to give effect to that objective.”
The ICC is the first permanent, treaty-based, international criminal court established to help end impunity for the perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community, namely war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. The ICC’s founding treaty, the Rome Statute, entered into force on 1 July 2002.
ICC President’s address to the UN General Assembly
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