[legal-professionals] Arab Summit urged to ratify statute of International Criminal Court

The Arab NGOs Coalition for the Establishment of an International
Criminal Court Appeals to the Arab Summit to Ratify the ICC Statute


On the occasion of the Arab Summit meeting, and taking into consideration
the circumstances in the region, and a climate that is charged with several
critical political and international issues about the future of the Arab
nation and its peoples, the Secretary General of the Arab Center for the
Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession (ACIJLP), acting as
the coordinator of the Arab NGOs Coalition for the Establishment of an
International Criminal Court (ACICC), which encompasses 53 NGOs from
several Arab countries, appealed to the Lebanese President Emil Lahud, as
the Chairman of the forthcoming Arab Summit meeting, and Mr. Amr Moussa,
the Secretary General of the Arab League, to extend the issue of ratifying
the Statute of the permanent international criminal court to Arab
delegations that will participate in the meeting.

The ACICC made a last call about the urgency of ratifying and acceding to
the ICC Statute, provided that the number of ratifications reached 56 to
date while no Arab country has ratified. There are only four ratifications
left before the ICC starts exercising its jurisdiction over crimes of
genocide, war crimes, crimes of aggression, and crimes against humanity.

The ACICC demanded that Arab countries should be addressed in the
forthcoming summit meeting to take advantage of the international
celebration that will take place on the side of the Ninth Preparatory
Commission session, which will be held at the headquarters of the United
Nations in New York during the period from 8 to 19 April 2002. The ceremony
will be held on the occasion of achieving the 60th ratification. The UN
Secretary General and representatives of the 60 ratifying states will
attend this ceremony.

The ACICC points out that Arab governments wasted an opportunity, for
themselves and their peoples, to form a block inside the Assembly of States
Parties (ASP), an organ which will have the authority to make critical
decisions that will determine the future of the court's functioning,
including election of judges, prosecutors, staff members and administrators.

The ACICC believes that if it is no longer possible for a block of Arab
voices to form inside the ASP, there is still a chance for an Arab presence
inside the ASP if some Arab countries ratified the ICC Statute promptly.

The ACICC appeals to Arab governments not to make their peoples lose the
opportunity of contributing to the building of this new international
edifice, especially after it is evident that it will start exercising its
jurisdiction in an unexpectedly short time, by the end of June 2002.

The Arab region, due to its suffering throughout history, conspiracies
against it by great powers, what has been committed on its territories and
what is currently being committed, is the region in most need for a
permanent international criminal court that will deter the perpetrators of
genocide, war crimes, crimes of aggression and crimes against humanity,
almost all of which have been and are committed against Arab peoples as
revealed in history.

The ACICC emphasizes that its request now is not only mere support or
welcome of the establishment of the ICC because time is too short, and we
have nothing as Arab countries except a few weeks and the required number
of ratifications will be attained for ICC to start exercising its role.

Our Arab history has taught us that 'what is not fully realized, should not
be completely abandoned'. On this basis, we hope that at least the four
remaining countries would be Arab countries.


For more information Contact:
Mr.Nasser Amin
Secretary General
The Arab Center for the Independence
of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession (ACIJLP)
8/10 Mathaf El-Manial ST.,
Manial El-Roda, 11451 Cairo
Egypt
Tel.&Fax: (202) 3620732
Tel.&Fax: (202) 5310027