Statement of Judge Sang-Hyun Song, President of the International Criminal Court (ICC), on the Occasion of Human Rights Day, 10 December 2011

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“The trials of today will deter the crimes of tomorrow”

When the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 10 December 1948, it was the first time that the international community articulated in detail fundamental rights and freedoms that belong to all human beings without distinction.

Half a century later, the adoption of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in July 1998 represented another groundbreaking development toward a more humane world. The crimes under the ICC’s jurisdiction – genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes – inherently involve violations of the right to life and liberty, as well as subjection to torture and slavery. Frequently, they cause the breakdown of social structures, denying a series of other rights set out in the Universal Declaration, from the right to freedom of expression to the right to an adequate standard of living and education. A child soldier may well be stripped of all these rights!

To date, 120 sovereign states have joined the Rome Statute, and the ICC has become one of the core international institutions for addressing massive violations of human rights. It is a means for thousands of victimized children, women and men to see justice done and, through the possibility of victims’ participation and reparations, to lead a better present. Above all, the ICC is an essential building block for a better future – because the trials of today will deter the crimes of tomorrow.

As we mark the Human Rights Day on 10 December, I wish to express my deepest sympathies to all whose fundamental human rights have been breached. Next week, the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute will convene in New York, and I call on the ICC member states to use the opportunity to reemphasize their full commitment to the ICC and the evolving system of international criminal justice. Only with concrete action both at the local and international level can we get closer to ending impunity for atrocious crimes that cause untold suffering to our fellow citizens of the world.

For further information, please contact Fadi El Abdallah, Spokesperson and Head of Public Affairs Unit, International Criminal Court, by telephone at: +31 (0)70 515-9152 or +31 (0)6 46448938 or by e-mail at: fadi.el-abdallah@icc-cpi.int.

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Source: Presidency