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UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000989 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL UNGA UNGA
SUBJECT: GENERAL DEBATE AND RESOLUTION ON THE INTERNATIONAL 
CRIMINAL COURT (ICC) 
 
REF: STATE 112496 
 
¶1.  Summary:  On October 29, Judge Sang-Hyun Song updated the 
General Assembly on the activity of the International 
Criminal Court (ICC).  Twenty-eight Member States addressed 
the General Assembly on the issue.  Most countries pledged 
support for the ICC and commended Chile and the Czech 
Republic for ratifying the Rome Statute.  Member States also 
called on enhanced collaboration with the ICC, specifically 
with regards to the eight outstanding warrants.  Most of the 
interventions welcomed the upcoming Review Conference in 
Uganda.  Several countries (Sudan, Cuba, Egypt and Iran) 
delivered contentious speeches.  On November 2, the General 
Assembly approved a resolution on the ICC without a vote but 
with the United States and Libya explaining their respective 
positions.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  On October 29, Judge Sang-Hyun Song reported to the 
General Assembly on the recent activity of the ICC.  The 
ICC's first trial (against Thomas Lubanga Dyilo) started in 
January with the Court's second trial (against Mathie 
Ngudjolo Chui and Germain Katanga) set to start next month. 
He cited three achievements of the Court in particular: the 
significant amount of attention given to the protection of 
witnesses compared to other courts, how it is operating 
against a blank slate of jurisprudence, and how capably the 
Court has handled the participation of victims.  He noted 
that his biggest obstacle was the lack of arrest or surrender 
of suspects who now total eight.  Judge Song later 
highlighted his three priorities for the ICC under his 
presidency: to ensure respect for the judicial independence 
of the Court; to enhance the effectiveness of the Rome 
Statute; and to continue to strive for the Court to be a 
model of public administration.  He concluded by expressing 
his desire for increased cooperation with the United Nations 
and for a positive outcome from the Review Conference in 
Uganda in 2010. 
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - 
REGIONAL GROUP SPEECHES 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶3.  Sweden, on behalf of the European Union (EU), reaffirmed 
its support for the ICC's fight against impunity and 
encouraged other regional groups (such as the African Union) 
to increase cooperation with the Court.  It commended Chile 
and the Czech Republic for ratifying the Rome Statute which 
brought the number of States Parties to 110.  The EU 
expressed concern for the outstanding warrants of arrest and 
thanked Uganda for hosting the upcoming Review Conference. 
 
¶4.  New Zealand, representing Canada, Australia, and New 
Zealand (CANZ), observed that the Rome Statute was on its way 
to achieving universal acceptance, noting this should be the 
Court's primary goal.  CANZ called on countries to provide 
assistance and cooperation to the Court in its efforts to 
gather evidence, enforce sentences, and apprehend accused 
persons. 
 
¶5.  Trinidad and Tobago, representing the Caribbean Community 
(CARICOM), expressed concern that several countries have 
failed to assist in enforcing the eight outstanding warrants 
and called for increased cooperation with the ICC.  CARICOM 
commended the efforts of the ICC in its measures to protect 
witnesses, victims, and the accused and backed Guyana's 
Justice Duke Pollard election to the ICC next month. 
Trinidad and Tobago welcomed the upcoming Review Conference 
in Uganda, stating it wanted to define the crime of 
aggression. 
 
¶6.  Kenya addressed the General Assembly on behalf of the 
African Group of State Parties to the ICC and urged all 
Member States to ratify the Rome Statute.  Kenya said that 
the ICC will go a long way to deter human rights abuses and 
praised the work of the liaison office in New York, 
commenting that another office should be opened in Addis 
Ababa.  Kenya pledged enhanced cooperation between the 
African Union and the ICC and committed its support for the 
upcoming Review Conference in Uganda. 
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
COMMON THEMES AND NOTEWORTHY INTERVENTIONS 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶7.  Most of the interventions commended Chile and the Czech 
 
 
Republic for ratifying the Rome Statute, bringing the total 
number of Member States party to the Rome Statute to 110. 
These same countries called for more Member States to ratify 
the Statute which will lead to its universal acceptance. 
Member States also called on increased cooperation with the 
ICC, particularly with regard to the eight outstanding 
warrants.  Most of the interventions welcomed the upcoming 
Review Conference in Uganda, with several countries (Brazil, 
DRC, Cuba, Argentina, and Iran) hoping that it will focus on 
defining the crime of aggression.  Finally, most of the 
interventions focused on how the ICC complements national 
jurisdictions. 
 
¶8.  Ambassador Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamad of Sudan 
asserted that the ICC was destined to fail just like the 
League of Nations.  According to Sudan, the ICC is full of 
contradictions and flaws and is highly politicized.  He 
criticized the ICC Prosecutor as being a political activist 
in search of fame.  Sudan claimed that the Rome Statute 
should only apply to those countries that have ratified it 
and condemned the ICC for breaching the immunity granted to 
heads of state and government.  Mohamad criticized the ICC 
for only focusing on Africa and called it a "new legal 
Apartheid." 
 
¶9.  Cuba criticized the ICC's lack of independence from the 
Security Council.  It called for a clear definition of the 
crime of aggression at the Uganda Review Conference and 
referenced - without specifically naming the United States - 
the U.S. embargo as such an aggression.  Cuba was concerned 
by the precedent that could be set by initiating legal 
proceedings against nationals of non-State parties that had 
not accepted the ICC's competence. 
 
¶10.  Egypt also faulted the ICC for attempting to oblige 
States that had not ratified the Rome Statute to adhere to 
it.  It called on Member States to reach a definition of the 
crime of aggression and to avoid politicization of the Court. 
 Egypt commented that the Security Council should refer to 
the Court all of those accused of committing crimes against 
humanity "without discrimination based on political reasons," 
and not focus solely on Africa.  In this light, Egypt called 
for the Prosecutor to begin an investigation of Israel, 
taking into account the recent Goldstone Report and the 
Report of the Independent Fact-Finding Commission on Gaza. 
 
¶11.  Iran stated that the ICC should avoid double standards 
and politicization and that it should not be subordinate to 
the Security Council.  Furthermore, only States party to the 
Rome Statute should be bound by it.  Iran reaffirmed the 
position taken by groups such as the Organization of the 
Islamic Conference (OIC), the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), and 
the African Group on the issue of Darfur.  In addition, Iran 
called for ICC action over crimes committed in Palestine 
since 2002. 
 
¶12.  On November 2, the Netherlands presented this year's 
annual resolution on the ICC for the General Assembly's 
consideration.  The resolution, with ninety-nine co-sponsors, 
was adopted without a vote.  The United States delivered the 
explanation of position contained in reftel, while Libya 
commented that it was joining consensus on the resolution but 
that it still had reservations on the content of the Rome 
Statute. 
 
¶13.  The following countries addressed the General Assembly 
on the Report of the ICC on October 29-30: Sweden on behalf 
of the EU, New Zealand on behalf of CANZ, Trinidad and Tobago 
on behalf of CARICOM, Kenya on behalf of African Countries 
Party to the ICC, Senegal, Liechtenstein, Norway, South 
Africa, Cuba, Peru, South Korea, Sudan, Brazil, Japan, 
Switzerland, Egypt, Costa Rica, the Democratic Republic of 
Congo, Gabon, Mexico, Colombia, Ghana, Argentina, Venezuela, 
Uganda, Botswana, Nigeria, and Iran. 
Rice