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Robinson says establishment of International Criminal Court key to fighting terror

Robinson says establishment of International Criminal Court key to fighting terror

The 11 September attacks against the United States, which constituted a crime against humanity, underscored the urgency of establishing the International Criminal Court in order to respond future terrorist atrocities, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The 11 September attacks against the United States, which constituted a crime against humanity, underscored the urgency of establishing the International Criminal Court in order to respond future terrorist atrocities, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Mary Robinson told students at the American University in Beirut on Monday that the strike against the World Trade Center was a war crime “both because of the nature and scale of the attack, and because it was aimed against civilians.” She noted that while there is currently no global court to prosecute perpetrators, the Statute of the International Criminal Court provides for individual criminal responsibility.

“We must ensure that this [Statute] comes into force through sufficient ratification and thereby equip ourselves with the means to deal with such horrors as that of 11 September in the future,” said the High Commissioner. She noted that with over 50 ratifications of the 60 required for the Court’s formal establishment, “the Statute could come into force in the second half of 2002,” and stressed that universal ratification “is an important goal for the world community.”

The High Commissioner also said her audience was well-placed to understand the importance of a grass-roots approach to human rights. “Human rights are not something far away; they start in communities and neighbourhoods,” she said. “Who better than the Lebanese would know where resentment and intolerance among national communities could lead? For more than a decade, a whole generation witnessed the consequences of hate and blame, most of the families suffered sorrow and loss.”

Complying with human rights principles “offers a vital framework to a more inclusive, sharing and equitable society in which reprisal and discrimination based on religion, race or gender have no place,” she said, adding that ultimately, “the hope for a culture of human rights is rooted in the belief that personal commitments are necessary to support and strengthen the laws and systems that protect such rights.”