Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 24 June 2004
77 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on the affiliation of any proposed interim Government in Iraq, or indeed any future Government, to the International Criminal Court; his views on the fact that those responsible for abuses in Iraq by the occupying forces should be brought before the International Criminal Court; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18824/04]
View answerIreland, together with its EU partners, supports the widest possible participation in the International Criminal Court, ICC. Currently, 94 states are parties to the Rome Statute of the ICC and an additional 50 are signatories to it. As President of the Council of the EU, Ireland drew up a target list of countries to be approached by the EU during our presidency with a view to increasing the number of states parties to the Rome statute. This was done in accordance with the EU action plan on the ICC finalised earlier this year. In accordance with this target list, a series of bilateral démarches have been carried out by or on behalf of the Irish Presidency in all regions of the world and the issue of the ICC has also been mainstreamed in ongoing EU dialogue with third countries.
To date, Iraq has neither signed nor become a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The Government hopes, however, that Iraq will accede to the statute and expects that the European Union in its contacts with Iraqi authorities in the future will promote knowledge and understanding of the ICC in Iraq and encourage Iraqi accession in due course. The Government would also welcome states, such as Iraq, which are not yet party to the statute agreeing to co-operate with the court, as provided for by the statute.
In relation to those accused of abuses in Iraq, as has been mentioned previously to this House, the role of the International Criminal Court in these cases is limited by the fact that it has jurisdiction only over crimes committed on the territory of a state party, or by a person who is a national of a state party. As I have said, Iraq is not a state party to the Rome Statute and many of those accused of abuses are not nationals of a state party.
An additional point to note is that, even where abuses have been committed by a national of a state party to the Rome statute, the International Criminal Court, in accordance with the principle of complementarity set out in the statute, may take action only where a state with jurisdiction is unable or unwilling genuinely to investigate and prosecute the alleged crimes
