ICC Assembly of State Parties 'welcomes State of Palestine' Rome Statute documents
By YONAH JEREMY BOB
The President of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute, Minister Sidiki Kaba, late Wednesday "welcomed the deposit by the State of Palestine of the instruments of accession to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court," after being notified by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in his capacity as depositary that he had officially received the Palestinians' application.A statement said that "the deposit of the instruments of accession by the State of Palestine," effected as of January 2, had brought the number of States Parties to the Rome Statute to 123.Kaba added that “each ratification of the Rome Statute constitutes welcome progress towards its universality. I call on all members of the United Nations to join this permanent and independent system of international justice to fight against impunity and prevent the most serious crimes under international law, which is based on the principle of complementarity with domestic jurisdictions.”The statement noted that in "a related development, the Government of Palestine accepted, by means of a declaration under article 12(3) of the Rome Statute, the ICC jurisdiction" since June 13.It added that also on Wednesday, the ICC Registrar addressed a letter "to the government of Palestine accepting this declaration and transmitted it to the Prosecutor for her consideration."
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