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77th Session of the UN General Assembly, New York, 31 October 2022
My remarks today are
complementary to the statement delivered by the European Union.
My delegation would like to
thank President Hofmański for the introduction of this year’s Report which is
included in the document A/77/305, and to express our appreciation and
recognition for the Court’s high judicial, prosecutorial and investigative
activity during the reporting period, including the commencing of two trials,
the continuation of two other, the entering of a fifth trial in the preparation
phase, the issuance of new arrest warrants and the opening of three new
investigations. Furthermore, we single out the high participation of victims
in the Court’s proceedings and the continuation of the implementation of
reparation orders and assistance orders by the Trust Fund for Victims.
We welcome the continued active
engagement of the Court in the review process aimed at enhancing the
performance and effectiveness of the institution and the wider Rome Statute
system, a process that my country fully supports. We also note the election
of the two Deputy Prosecutors at the twentieth session of the Assembly of
States Parties, and we believe that it should remain a high priority to
continue strengthening the selection process of the Court’s high officials.
Cyprus has always been a strong
supporter of the International Criminal Court (ICC) system and we have been
striving along with other states parties to consolidate it as an independent
and impartial judicial institution of the highest quality. We will also
continue to work for the universal ratification and full implementation of
the Rome Statute.
Cyprus proudly co-sponsored the
draft resolution entitled “Report of the International Criminal Court”
(A/77/L.7) and we call upon all member states to support it as well. The
draft resolution contains new language on the prohibition of the illegal use
of force enshrined in the UN Charter, as well as on genocide, war crimes,
crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression. On the latter, we wish
to remind that Cyprus, who itself is a victim of foreign aggression, was one
of the first countries to ratify the Kampala amendment to the Rome Statute on
the crime of aggression, which has been embedded in the jurisdictional regime
of the Rome Statute since July 2018, and we urge all state parties to do
likewise.
While the ICC has evolved into
a key instrument in combatting impunity, serious crimes and atrocities
continue unabated around the world. Much more is needed to effectively
address these crimes and grave human rights violations wherever they occur,
and it is in our hands to strengthen the international justice system for
accountability for atrocities, and therefore to realize the objectives of
both the UN and the ICC.
Among others, the lack of
impunity is partly owed to the lack of referrals by the Security Council. The
ability of the Security Council to refer situations to the ICC is one of the
most powerful tools at its disposal to interrupt the conflict cycle, to
ensure sustainable peace and to provide justice and effective remedies to the
victims. We also believe that Security Council referrals should be in line
with the spirit of existing commitments to refrain from using the veto in
order to prevent the Council from acting to end the commission of atrocity
crimes, namely the French-Mexican initiative and the ACT Code of
Conduct.
I thank you.
(MG)
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