IRELAND: The ratification of the statute to establish the International Criminal Court has been welcomed as a "historic" move by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen.
Ireland's ambassador to the United Nations, Mr Richard Ryan, deposited instruments of ratification of the Rome Statute with the UN Treaty Office in New York yesterday. Nine other states also ratified the statute in a joint ceremony at UN headquarters.
Mr Cowen said it represented "one of the most significant developments in international human rights and humanitarian law since the second World War".
He said for too long, human rights violations had gone unpunished due to the lack of an enforcement mechanism.
"For the first time ever, a permanent international court will exist with jurisdiction to try persons for the commission of these crimes.
"In ratifying the Rome Statute, Ireland once again affirms its commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights and to the rule of law throughout the world.
"This commitment is felt not alone by the Government, but by the people of Ireland, who directly expressed their support for the International Criminal Court in a referendum held in June last year," Mr Cowen said.
The move to establish the court was also welcomed by the director of the centre for human rights at NUI Galway, Prof William Schabas. "This is arguably the most important new international organisation since the creation of the UN in 1945," he said.
In September, an Assembly of States Parties to the Statute will meet and elect the Judges, the prosecutor and the registrar of the court. Ireland was one of the few states which required a referendum on the court.
An amendment to the Constitution was necessary as becoming party to the statute involved a partial transfer of the sovereign power of the state to administer justice.Having been debated by the Dáil and Seanad, the proposal was put to referendum with cross-party support on June 7th last year and approved by a majority of 64.22 per cent. The delay in preparing the instruments of ratification was attributed to a lack of civil service resources.