Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-03-15-Speech-3-019"
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"en.20000315.1.3-019"2
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"Mr President, President of the Council, I welcome the statement of the Council this morning and while I endorse the sentiments expressed by the President, we should ask the question: what are the EU and its Member States doing to give expression to these laudable principles? I agree with Mr Martínez when he stressed the importance of providing adequate protection and support for victims. However we must also take action to ensure that there are fewer victims in the future. The one sure way to achieve this is to send a clear message to those who are guilty of crimes against humanity that they will be brought to justice for their evil deeds.
The tribunals in which those guilty of atrocities in the Balkans are currently on trial send one clear message. Furthermore, although it ended in something of a fiasco, the Pinochet case in the UK had positive aspects to it. The groundbreaking ruling by the House of Lords illustrates one way in which concerned countries can demonstrate to those that commit crimes against humanity that there will be no hiding place for them.
However welcome some of these developments may be, more needs to be done. They must be built upon and the establishment of the International Criminal Court was a significant development in the field of human rights. However, it will symbolise little more than a statement of platitudes and empty rhetoric unless its Statute comes into force. Ratification by sixty Member States is required to achieve this and of the seven that have done so I regret to say that only one is from the EU, namely Italy.
I would say to the Council and I would say to the presidency this morning: if you want to ensure that those who commit violations of humanitarian law are brought to justice; if you want to send a clear message; if you want to prevent more victims in the future, you should use your presidency to start a campaign at least among EU Member States. They must ratify the Rome Statute and you should use whatever influence you have elsewhere in the world to achieve that magic target of sixty to ensure that the statute of the International Criminal Court comes into force."@en1
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