Written Answers. - UN Resolutions.
Bernard Allen
Question:
12
Mr. Allen
asked the
Minister for Foreign Affairs
if his Department has had contact with the United Nations concerning resolution 1422; if he is in agreement with the terms of this resolution; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[14864/03]
The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court – ICC – entered into force on 1 July 2002. Ireland ratified the statute in April 2002, following the approval by the people of the necessary amendment to the Constitution. The Government is fully committed to the court, in line with Ireland's obligations as a state party to the statute and in accordance with the European Union's Common Position on the ICC. Ireland is currently participating in a review of the EU Common Position.
Security Council Resolution 1422 arose from US concerns. These were based on the view that the claim of the International Criminal Court to jurisdiction over relevant crimes, committed in the territory of a state party to the Rome Statute by nationals of a non-state party, constituted an unacceptable erosion of a non-state party's sovereignty. In this context, the US expressed concern that its troops serving on overseas missions, or indeed its public figures at home, could be subjected to politically motivated prosecutions.
The US therefore refused to agree to the adoption of the necessary Security Council resolution renewing the mandate of the UN peacekeeping operation, and the authorisation of the NATO-led mission, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, without the inclusion of a provision conferring immunity from arrest, detention and prosecution of personnel from a contributing state not party to the Rome Statute, either in the specific resolution relating to Bosnia and Herzegovina or in a generic resolution.
Ireland's view was that, while we understood the concerns of the US, we did not feel that such concerns were well founded and that the Rome Statute already contained adequate safeguards to protect all persons against politically inspired investigations or prosecutions.
Ireland was a member of the UN Security Council at that time and made its views known to the UN Secretariat and to the other Security Council delegations, including the US, in the many sessions of informal, or closed-door, consultations of the Council as well as in the public meeting of the Council on 10 July 2002.
These discussions culminated in the adoption of Resolution 1422 on 12 July 2002. Resolution 1422 requests the ICC, for a period of 12 months from 1 July 2002, not to commence or proceed with the investigation or prosecution of a case, if one arises, involving current or former officials or personnel from a state that contributed to a UN operation but was not a state party to the Rome Statute. The resolution also provides that the request may be renewed each 1 July for further 12 month periods.
Ireland, like the other members of the Security Council with a principled attachment to the ICC, voted for Resolution 1422 with great reluctance, having secured concessions from the US side. It did so in recognition of the importance of continued US support for, and involvement in, UN peacekeeping and of the need to find a pragmatic solution, taking into account its historic commitment to UN peacekeeping and its active support for the court.
Resolution 1422 expires on 1 July 2003 and Ireland has been participating in discussions with its EU partners on how best to prepare for the discussions that are likely to take place, inside and outside the Security Council, before then. I can assure the Deputy that, as the expiry of Resolution 1422 approaches, the Government will work to ensure that any outcome achieved is consistent with the EU Common Position and with Ireland's strong political support for the International Criminal Court.
