0 RI seeks help on criminal court approval

A delegation of government officials and experts led by Deputy Law and Human Rights Minister Denny Indrayana will visit the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, the Netherlands, to request technical assistance related to the ratification process of the 1998 Rome Statute. The visit is aimed at giving government officials and experts opportunities to learn directly from relevant parties about academic arguments as well as administrative and technical procedures they need to proceed with the Rome Statute ratification, the ministry said in a statement made available to The Jakarta Post on Sunday. 

“This will be an important initial step toward the statute’s ratification, which is needed to protect all Indonesians from any possible extraordinary crimes in the future and to ensure that they are subject to the ICC and international laws,” Denny said as quoted in the statement. Denny added that during the visit, he also wanted a clear explanation from the ICC on a question that experts had so far given different answers to. “Are crimes committed in the past, but with tendencies to repeat, such as enforced disappearance, still subject to the ICC’s scrutiny, particularly if it is requested?” said Denny. 

Under the Rome Statute, the ICC can investigate and prosecute serious crimes occurring after the statute came into effect on July 1, 2002. The court can also investigate and adjudicate cases only in countries that have ratified the statute, unless there is an exception made by the United Nations Security Council. By ratifying the Rome Statute, a country will allow the ICC to interfere with its judicial system as the court can investigate and prosecute gross violations of human rights, including genocide. 

Human rights groups have repeatedly called on the Indonesian government to ratify the Rome Statute as part of its commitment to uphold justice and protect human rights in the country, as mandated by the 1945 Constitution. Activists said the government’s reluctance to ratify the statute would only prolong the impunity of perpetrators of atrocities. It was also suggested that the Indonesian Military (TNI) was at the forefront of measures to foil the statute’s ratification, as it could pave the way for the prosecution of top military figures who have been implicated in past human rights violations. 

As of February, 121 UN member countries are state parties to the Rome Statute, with Ivory Coast expected to become the 122nd state party in May. Thirty one countries have signed the Rome Statute but they have yet to ratify it. Indonesia stated its support for the adoption of the Rome Statute by adopting the National Plan of Action on Human Rights in 2004. The plan stipulates that the government intended to ratify the statute in 2008. (ebf)

source : the jakarta post