52ND SESSION
OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SIXTH COMMITTEE

AGENDA ITEM 150
ESTABLISHMENT OF AN
INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

STATEMENT BY
H. E. AMBASSADOR DR. GYÖRGY SZÉNÁSI
REPRESENTATIVE OF
THE REPUBLIC OF HUNGARY IN THE SIXTH COMMITTEE

NEW YORK
OCTOBER 23, 1997

Mr. Chairman,

History has been clearly demonstrated that there can be no peace without justice, that is to say justice is an indispensable component of lasting peace. Starting from that premise, the Republic of Hungary holds the view that all those who commit war crimes and crimes against humanity must be held personally responsible and accountable. We are convinced that bringing to justice those who commit the most heinous international crimes is an important contribution to the maintenance of international peace and security and to the protection of human rights. The timeliness of implementing this principle is shown by the war crimes and other grave violations of international humanitarian law which have been committed during the last few years in many parts of the world.

Hungary, being a country neighbouring one of those areas where such dreadful crimes have occurred, welcomed the decision of the Security Council, acting under Chapter VII of the Charter, to set up ad-hoc Tribunals for the prosecution of crimes committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda and has constantly given its full support to their activities. As the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Hungary emphasized in the statement which he delivered during the general debate of this session of the General Assembly, and I quote: "It is our legitimate expectation that all persons indicted by the Tribunals will be brought to justice and, conversely, failing to cooperate fully with the Tribunals will not remain without consequences."

For the same reasons, my country has attached, from the very beginning, a particular importance to the establishment of a Permanent International Criminal Court (ICC) which, being established by means of a multilateral treaty, will operate on an unequivocal legal basis and, at the same time, can rely on the experience arising from the functioning of the two ad hoc Tribunals. Once it comes into existence, the ICC will have further advantages compared to the ad hoc Tribunals: it will guarantee equal treatment for all violations wherever and by whoever they are committed; it will exercise its jurisdiction without any undue delay which might be caused by the need to create ad hoc Tribunals; it will make use of the special expertise of its permanent staff; and, last but not least, it will eliminate the need for a decision by the Security Council to set up ad hoc Tribunals with respect to particular conflicts.

Mr. Chairman,

Hungary's support for the ICC has manifested itself in many ways. The Hungarian Government submitted written comments on the draft statute of the Court in 1994, the very year the International Law Commission finalized the text. Since that time, the Hungarian delegation has actively participated in the work of the Ad Hoc and later the Preparatory Committee which were set up by the General Assembly to prepare a widely acceptable consolidated text of a convention on the establishment of the ICC. Since on those occasions my delegation has had an ample opportunity to express its views on the majority of the main issues related to the creation and functioning of the Court, at this juncture, I will confine myself to briefly reviewing the results that have already been accomplished and to stating my delegation's position on the tasks now facing us.

As is well known, the idea of creating a permanent international judicial system has been on the agenda in the UN fora since the years immediately following the end of the Second World War. At the outset, progress was painfully slow. However, the recent positive changes and developments in international relations paved the way for a wider acceptance of the notion of individual criminal responsibility. The atrocities committed during recent conflicts and the existence of the two ad hoc Tribunals also contributed to the acceleration of the process. The real turning point came when the International Law Commission finalized and submitted the draft statute of the ICC to the General Assembly in 1994. Since that time, such progress has been made by the Ad Hoc and later the Preparatory Committee that last year it became possible for the General Assembly to set the date for the Diplomatic Conference of plenipotentiaries.

Having said that, I cannot but join previous speakers and pay special tribute to Mr. Adriaan Bos for his skillful guidance of the work of the Committee as its chairman, and express our gratitude to other members of the Bureau as well as to those who, by chairing various working groups, have also played an essential role in advancing this project.

Mr. Chairman,

During the latest session of the General Assembly Hungary wholeheartedly supported the resolution which determined that the Diplomatic Conference would be held in 1998, although it was well-known even that time that substantial work still remained to be done and some of the difficult political decisions can only be made at the Conference itself. Since we are convinced that, at this time, the General Assembly should set the exact date, length and venue of the Conference, my delegation, joining forces with other "like-minded" ones, supports the adoption of a resolution to that end. We are committed to vigorously pursuing the negotiations and will continue to do our utmost at the two remaining sessions of the Preparatory Committee and at the Diplomatic Conference to be held in Rome next year to ensure the establishment of a truly independent and genuinely effective ICC.