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• Malaysian Bar urges Govt to sign Rome Statute

On the 17th of July each year, the world community celebrates the International Day of Justice. Today is also the 9th anniversary of an important milestone in the quest for world peace. On 17th July 1998, representatives of the international community gathered in Rome and adopted the Statute for the International Criminal Court (ICC), the first permanent international court before which those who have perpetrated some of the most heinous crimes possible by one human being against another, would be brought to justice.

The ICC aims to bring perpetrators of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity to justice if their home countries (or the countries where those crimes took place) are unwilling or unable to act against them. It is a court of last resort, and is intended to be an independent and impartial tribunal to bring such perpetrators to account.

To date, 104 countries have ratified the Rome Statute. It is expected that Japan will formally be the 105th country to join the Court today.

Malaysia has a long and time-honoured commitment to the cause of international humanitarian law and peace-keeping. After only 3 years as an independent nation, we contributed peace-keepers to the Congo. We have ratified the Geneva Conventions, and more recently the Chemical Weapons Convention. Over the years we have contributed peace-keeping troops to many war-torn and conflict-ridden areas such as Angola, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burundi, Cambodia, Chad, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Liberia, Mozambique, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Western Sahara. Our assistance to Indonesia during the Asian Tsunami and to Timor Leste in her progress towards independence and nation-building also speaks volumes about Malaysia’s important role in international humanitarian efforts. Malaysia now sits on the United Nations Human Rights Council and is Chair of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference.

Yet, despite our obvious commitment to international justice and the rule of law in the international arena, we have yet to sign or ratify the Rome Statute.

The Malaysian Bar is of the view that it is in Malaysia's continuing interest as a responsible member of the international community to be a part of this worldwide initiative towards ending impunity for aggressors in conflict-ridden areas of our global village and obtaining justice for victims of some of the gravest crimes against humanity. The long-term solution to international conflict must be both a resolute commitment to peace-keeping and a stern resolve to bring those responsible for atrocities to justice.

The Malaysian Bar has therefore joined an international network of non-governmental organisations known as the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (www.iccnow.org) which advocates a fair, independent and effective Court. In Malaysia more than 15 non-governmental organisations have attended various meetings hosted by the Bar Council to explore the possibility of forming a Malaysian chapter of this coalition. (See the report at http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/content/view/7669/2)

We are pleased to note that the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM), other professional organisations, individuals from across the political spectrum and various human rights organisations have all expressed a keen interest in Malaysia’s membership of the ICC.

We are hopeful that the Government will expeditiously sign and ratify the Rome Statute. As ever, the Malaysian Bar is ready to assist the Government in any way we can in this regard.

Ambiga Sreenevasan
President
Malaysian Bar

17 July 2007

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