Page 335 - 100 Reflections that Crafted Geneva International_V-Petrovsky_private special edition

Bringing the Concept to Life

word for word from the French “Declaration des Droits de l`Homme et du
Citoyen”. So, this was revolutionary, but in 1789, not 1948.

One of the primary objectives of the United Nat ions is securing universal
respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for individuals throughout
the world. In this connection, few topics are of greater importance than the
fight against impunity and the struggle for peace and justice and human rights
in conflict situations in today's world.

On 17 July 1998 in Rome, 160 nations decided to establish a permanent
international criminal court to try individuals for the most serious offences of
global concern. such as genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
This was an historic occasion because the creation of such a court will only
have come half a decade after it was first called for in the United Nations'
founding Charter. The court's creation had been postponed until the Member
States of the UN could agree on an appropriate definition of the term “aggres-

sion.” The necessity for creating such a court now came front the realization
that the ad-hoc tribunals set up to try suspected criminals following
specific conflicts were too limited in their jurisdiction and not flexible
enough to address larger, more complex circumstances surrounding these
conflicts. But most important of all, the world did not have a permanent body
to a deter new violations from occurring in the first place. For nearly fifty years,
the Member States of the General Assembly discussed the need for such an
international instrument to apply the much needed jurisdiction to such
questions as genocide, crimes against humanity and crimes of war. This effort
was mired in legalistic ambiguity and, ultimately, worries over issues of national
sovereignty. The proposed international court was seen by many States as a
direct affront to their national legal jurisdictions and autonomy. However,
modern day atrocities such as Bosnia and Rwanda, conflicts where
unspeakable atrocities have been perpetrated, shook the international
community into reexamining this important issue. It became clear that such
heinous crimes would probably go unpunished, leaving those most
responsible free to continue to their inhumane abuses. In the words of the
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, “A person stands a better chance of being
tried and judged for killing one human being than for killing 100,000.”

It the parliaments of at least 60 signatory countries ratify this agreement,
the International Criminal Court will begin its work and will, at last, provide the
world with a mechanism for eliminating impunity for crimes against humanity.
The International Criminal Court was one of the missing links in an effective

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