TO REDUCE THE CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY AND COMBAT THE CULTURE OF IMPUNITY, ACIJLP CALLS EGYPTIAN LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TO RATIFY AND ACCEDE TO ICC

Cairo, February 3, 2013

TO REDUCE THE CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY AND  COMBAT THE CULTURE OF IMPUNITY, ACIJLP CALLS EGYPTIAN LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TO RATIFY AND ACCEDE TO ICC

The Arab Center for Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession ACIJLP calls the Egyptian Legislative Council to ratify and accede to the Rome Statute, which is stipulating for the International Criminal Court ICC, taking into account that Egypt signed the Rome Convention on the International Criminal Court on December 28, 2000. To enforce this statute, the Egyptian Legislative Council is required to ratify this agreement.

 

The centre points out that the statute ratification and ICC accession make this statute part of the national legislation system and pave the way for the integration between the Egyptian judiciary and ICC.  The Egyptian judiciary, according to the provisions of this statute, will take the priority with regard to the prosecution and accountability of people accused with the most serious crimes; such as war crimes, genocide, aggression and crimes against humanity, which are made currently in Egypt. The Egyptian judiciary deals with such crimes as ordinary crimes and the criminals, in accordance with the national legislation in force, may not be punished.

The center calls the Egyptian Legislative Council to seize this historic opportunity in Egypt; the transitional phase. It confirms that the ratification of the Statute and accession to ICC will put Egypt in ranks of advanced countries in the fields of international criminal justice and anti-culture of impunity. The ratification will emphasize on Egypt’s respect for its commitments and international obligations and support for the role of ICC as a judicial mechanism to track, account and try people involved in the most serious crimes based on the rules of integral, impartial and fair trials and the criteria contained in international relevant covenants.

The center asserts that Egypt after the revolution of January 25, 2011is no longer less than Arab countries which ratified and acceded to ICC, the countries that faced the similar circumstances and events of uprisings such as Tunisia. Egypt’s ratification and accession to ICC, taking into account Egypt's leadership in the Arab region, will be a driver for many Arab countries to take the required actions of ratification and accession to ICC.

It should be noted that ICC was established by virtue of Rome Convention in 1998, and its statute entered into force on July17, 2002. The number of states that ratified the Rome Statute reached 121 states on July 1, 2012; 33 states from Africa, 18 states from Asia, 18 states from Western Europe, 27 states from Latin America and the Caribbean, 25 states from southern Europe and other countries.

It is noteworthy that (13) Arab states signed the Rome Statute: Jordan, UAE, Bahrain, Algeria, Djibouti, Sudan, Syria, Oman, Comoros, Kuwait, Egypt, Morocco and Yemen, but only 4 of them ratified and acceded the statute; (Jordan, Djibouti, Comoros and Tunisia) and 6 Arab states did not sign it; Qatar, Lebanon, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Libya and Mauritania.