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UNICEF hails move to establish world criminal court

"The good news is that the Court will come into being. Even though there were strong objections expressed by major powers, we hope that, over time, they will come on board. The process is now irreversible," UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy said. "The bad news, however, is that there are elements in the statute itself which could deny or severely delay justice for many children and women."

She singled out for particular attention the inclusion of an opt-out clause in the statute which might suspend the jurisdiction of the court, as it applies to the specific category of war crimes, for up to seven years. "This clause, if exercised, could give those responsible for today's atrocities a green light to continue their nefarious violations of human rights and international law," Ms. Bellamy said. "It is therefore UNICEF's hope that States will refrain from making use of the opt-out clause."

The most serious result of extending the time frame for accepting the jurisdiction of the ICC, according to Ms. Bellamy, will be to diminish the possibility that current perpetrators of atrocities against children and women will ever be brought to justice.

"Delay means that those who have stolen Dinka children in southern Sudan can continue to act with impunity; that the maiming, kidnapping and slaughter at the hands of Joseph Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army can proceed unabated and that the wholesale mutilation of children and rape of women from Sierra Leone to Indonesia can occur with vastly diminished prospects that there will ever be prosecution for these heinous crimes."

Ms. Bellamy also expressed UNICEF's opposition to the statute's setting of 15 as the age at which children can be pressed into military service. "While UNICEF is pleased that the enlistment of children into the military will be seen as a war crime, UNICEF holds to its conviction that the minimum age should be 18 -- not 15."

"There is a clear contradiction if the military recruitment age is set at 15," she added, "when the statute also says that no child below the age of 18 can be tried by the Court. The latter position is laudable, but the former may put at risk the fundamental rights of children."

Ms. Bellamy said that despite UNICEF's disappointment on these individual issues, the entire ICC process is a triumph because it will result in the establishment of a permanent international tribunal which can bring individuals to justice for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. She also noted with approval the statute's provision that ICC judges should have expertise in the area of violence against children and women, and she welcomed the confirmation of an independent prosecutor.

"An emphasis on the all-too-ignored rights of children and women will assist in the coming effort to win ratification of the ICC Convention and establish the Court," Ms. Bellamy maintained. "Advocates of a strong and independent ICC should also make it very clear that there are issues that transcend politics, and there are crimes that are beyond the reach of any nation's power to hide or justify."

"With all of the disagreements and delays," she concluded, "we should not be blind to the incredible progress that has been made since Trinidad and Tobago revived the 50-year-old dream of a permanent international criminal court back in 1989. Some observers felt it would take 50 more years to reach the point where we are today. The progress may be slow, but the progress is palpable."

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