General Assembly: 29th plenary meeting, 79th session

Mr. Solomon Korbieh
Minister and legal adviser
Permanent Mission of Ghana
General Assembly
United Nations HQ, New York
October 29, 2024

REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

Mr. President,
My delegation thanks Judge Tomoko Akane, President of the International Criminal Court, for her presentation of the Court’s report on activities over the period 2023/2024. We align ourselves with the statement delivered by Uganda on behalf of African States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Ghana reaffirms her respect for the fundamental values of the Rome Statute and recognises the Court’s importance as a mechanism for addressing crimes of impunity, and particularly for the role it serves as a deterrent for potential perpetrators of such crimes. We reiterate that our collective adherence to the values of the Court are essential to the administration of international criminal justice and the maintenance of international peace and security.

Ghana also notes the importance of an independent Court, and avers that to achieve this, the Court’s activities should be undertaken in a fair, impartial and transparent manner, taking into account the rights and obligations of all States Parties. To Ghana, this is very crucial, particularly, as during the past twenty-five years, we have witnessed some States Parties withdrawing from the Rome Statute with the explanation that the Court has not been fair, impartial, and lacked transparency, with a focus only on situations in developing countries. It is, in this respect, gratifying to note that the Court has extended its activities beyond the familiar areas and now reports on situations and cases of alleged atrocity crimes in other regions.

Mr. President
Ghana continues to stress the key pillars and principles underpinning the Rome Statute -complementarity, cooperation, independence and impartiality of the Court – and wish to emphasize our firm belief in the need to effectively operationalize the principle of complementarity as a key instrument to ensure the full realization of the objectives of the Rome Statute.

To this end, building the domestic capacity of Judges, prosecutors, and other key officials in the domestic judicial system of States Parties is important to ensure adequate capacity to prosecute and punish crimes of impunity. Ghana, therefore, encourages enhanced technical assistance initiatives among States parties in support of the effective implementation of the Rome Statute.

In assessing the ICC’s collaboration with the United Nations Security Council, and on the issue of referral of cases by the Council to the Court, we remain concerned about the objective application of the provisions of Articles 12 and 13 of the Rome Statutes, on account of the political application of the veto by some permanent members of the Security Council. We urge further discussions within the Security Council on how atrocity crimes that impact international peace and security may be considered and voluntary limitations that Council members could agree on such cases.

Mr. President
Ghana welcomes the administration of restorative justice through the Trust Fund for Victims of the Rome Statute crimes. We encourage its sustenance to enable the representation and involvement of victims in proceedings to be covered for their own stories to be told while confronting their molesters or accused as well as payment of reparations to crime victims, among others. Ghana commends States Parties that make voluntary contributions to the Fund and calls on States that are capable of contributing to the Trust Fund to do so. It is worth noting that around 24,000 individuals directly benefited from the programmes implemented by the Court in 2023/2024.

Mr. President
In closing, Ghana would like to underscore the fact that, overall, the establishment of the Court has contributed in deterring potential culprits from committing atrocity crimes with impunity and thus has made some impact on the maintenance of international peace and security. However, with the increasing attempts in recent years by many powerful and mid-sized States to debase the pillars of international law and international justice, more support is required from all States Parties to support the work of the Court and insulate its workings from narrow interests and politicisation. Finally, Ghana has co-sponsored the resolution on the Report of the ICC to the UN and will vote in favour.

I thank you, Mr. President