Today the assembly of States Parties of the International Criminal Court (ICC) concluded its annual meeting which was held at the United National headquarters in New York.
The South African delegation was led by the Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mr Andries Nel, and included officials from the Departments of Justice and Constitutional Development and International Relations and Cooperation.
South Africa played a leading role in negotiating the Rome Statute and has been a state party since the Court's inception in 2002. The Court has jurisdiction to investigate the most serious crimes of concern to the international community such as genocide and war crimes, and prosecute the perpetrators where the state concerned is unwilling or unable to do so.
One of the major achievements of the meeting was the consensus election of a Prosecutor. Ms Fatou Bensouda, from The Gambia, who will replace Mr Luis Moreno Ocampo of Argentina, when his term expires in June 2012.
Ms Besouda was elected unopposed following a search process to find the most suitable candidate. The South African Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Mr Baso Sangqu, represented the African states parties on the search committees.
The meeting also elected six new judges, one of them from Nigerian. Currently five of the 18 judges on the ICC bench are from Africa.
Deputy Minister Nel said, “While all the present prosecutions by the Court relate to situations in Africa, it is to be welcomed that judges from the continent will participate in the hearing of those cases. This will enhance the Court’s status as an impartial distributor of justice." Mr Nel added that in order for the Court to be a true international court that is effective in the fight against impunity, it needs to also prosecute the perpetrators of human rights abuse in other parts of the world.
Mr Nel also highlighted the role that the South African delegation, together with that of Denmark, has played to promote the principle of positive complementarity within the Court, the United Nations and among civil society organisations, which is aimed at strengthening the capacity of states to investigate and prosecute serious crimes domestically.
Mr Nel further welcomed the fact that, despite an adverse international economic situation, the meeting increased the Court's budget. The budget was adopted after intense and late-night negotiations in which South Africa sought a compromise that would allow the Court to discharge its mandate effectively while taking into account the financial constraints faced by states.
The meeting took place from 12 - 21 December at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
Media statement on conclusion of the meeting of the Assembly of States Parties of the International Criminal Court, New York, 21 December 2011
