ICC: No Peace Without Justice urges Czech Republic to ratify the Rome Statute without further delay

Press release in Italian
 
The Czech Chamber of Deputies expressed today its support for the agreement on the recognition of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in its first reading in the Chamber. To be adopted, the agreement, which is supported by the opposition Social Democrats, must be approved by the foreign, and constitutional and legal committees and be supported by the constitutional majority in both houses of the Czech parliament. With ratification by the Czech Republic, the number of States Parties to the International Criminal Court would reach 107 and would finally include all EU Member States.
 
Declaration by Sergio Stanzani and Gianfranco Dell’Alba, President and Secretary General of No Peace Without Justice:
 
“No Peace Without Justice, which has been one of the organisations at the forefront of promoting the establishment and entry into force of the permanent International Criminal Court (ICC) and continues to work for its universal ratification, welcomes with satisfaction this first positive step towards the ratification by the Czech Republic of the ICC Rome Statute. We call on the Chamber to approve it as a matter of urgency and, as soon as possible thereafter, to enact the implementing legislation that will enable the Czech Republic to cooperate fully with the ICC and to fulfil its complementarity obligations. This decision would meet one of the recommendations endorsed by all participants at the Regional Intergovernmental Conference on Ratification and Domestic Implementation of the ICC Statute that NPWJ organised together with the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Prague in December 2001.
 
“The Czech Republic, like other European States and the European Union, has played an important role in supporting the establishment of the International Criminal Court, through membership of the Like-Minded Group of States at the Rome Diplomatic Conference in 1998. Although the Czech Republic signed the Rome Statute on 13 April 1999, it is the only EU member State that has not yet ratified the Treaty.
 
“The approval of the agreement, nine years after signing it, should be a priority for the Czech Republic, also on account of its forthcoming EU presidency, but more importantly because of its credibility for championing human rights protection in the world. By doing so, the Czech Republic would further strengthen the International Criminal Court and would enhance the European Union’s role as a frontrunner in the endeavour to make international criminal justice an effective tool for ending impunity”.

For more information, contact Alison Smith, Coordinator of the International Criminal Justice Program, on asmith@npwj.org or Nicola Giovannini on ngiovannini@npwj.org or +32 (0)2 548-3910.