On 18 August 2010, the Government of Saint Lucia formally deposited the “Instrument of Ratification” of the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court, to UN Secretary General’s office. Saint Lucia’s ratification brings the total number of States Parties to the Court to 113 and is an important step towards universal support for ending impunity, particularly in the Caribbean sub-region.
Statement by Alison Smith, Legal Counsel of No Peace Without Justice:
“No Peace Without Justice and the Nonviolent Radical Party, Transnational and Transparty congratulate Saint Lucia for this very important step, which concludes a lengthy and complex legislative process and has involved sustained commitment from all levels of Saint Lucia society, from civil society and the media through parliamentarians to government officials.
“Saint Lucia’s decision to join its 9 CARICOM counterparts as a State Party to the Rome Statute of the ICC, demonstrates its clear commitment to justice and the rule of law as a pre-condition for sustainable peace and marks a further significant step forward in the international community’s efforts to put an end to impunity for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
“Now that Saint Lucia has ratified the Rome ICC Statute, it must now ensure that it has in place appropriate procedures to enable it to cooperate fully with the ICC and to fulfill its complementarity obligations. We look forward to Saint Lucia taking this next important step as soon as possible, further solidifying its commitment to the victims of these crimes and to justice as an integral part of peace.”
The ratification by Saint Lucia leaves The Bahamas, Grenada, Jamaica and Haiti as the remaining Caribbean states that have yet to embrace the Rome Statute. We very much hope that they will draw inspiration from Saint Lucia’s example and ratify this instrument with all possible speed, which would ensure more active participation both in the Assembly of States Parties and in the work of the ICC itself”.
For more information, please contact Alison Smith, Coordinator of NPWJ’s International Criminal Justice Program, on asmith@npwj.org or +32-(0)2-548-3912, or Nicola Giovannini on ngiovannini@npwj.org or +32-2-548-39 15.