Move to accede to Rome Statute of ICC lauded

THE Malaysian government’s decision to sign the instrument to accede to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the first permanent judicial institution having jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression, should be lauded.

This important development is the result of 14 years of relentless advocacy.

Since the ICC was created in 1998 and started operations in 2002, it has responded positively to the calls of victims who want to seek justice through either their national judicial system or international systems like the ICC.

The ICC also protects women and advances gender justice by prosecuting those responsible for horrific sexual and gender-based crimes around the world.

The ICC protects and advances justice for children as well. There have been many reported cases of children being forced to take part in war. The ICC can be used as a platform to prosecute those who use children to serve their advantage.

Malaysia cannot ignore the important of the ICC in upholding justice and to protect its own people from serious crimes like the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17. The aircraft was shot down on July17, 2014 while flying over Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board, including 43 Malaysians.

In 2015, Malaysia, together with several nations, proposed the establishment of an international tribunal to the UN to further investigate the incident, identify the perpetrators and bring justice to the victims and their family. Sadly, the proposal was vetoed by Russia.