Виступ делегації України на засіданні РБ ООН щодо співпраці між Міжнародним кримінальним судом та Лівією

Mr. President,

I thank ICC Prosecutor Bensouda for her informative update on her Office’s work regarding the situation in Libya.

At the outset, I want to express once again my country’s support for activities of the International Criminal Court, which promotes the rule of law and fight against impunity for perpetrators of most serious crimes.

During the reporting period, security and humanitarian situations in Libya continued to deteriorate. We all saw numerous reports from various sources on human rights abuses and violations, such as unlawful killings, kidnappings and forced disappearance, torture, etc.

Like in many other conflict situations, in many ways people in Libya have grown accustomed to constant clashes among armed groups and to the existence of parallel institutions. In the last few months, Tripoli has seen fighting between rival militias, including shelling of the city’s main airport and surrounding areas.

The increasing use of heavy artillery and rockets has resulted in high numbers of casualties, including among civilians. We are especially concerned about the situation in Derna, where protracted fighting has reportedly heavily affected civilians.

We also condemn in the strongest terms the killing of 36 people, whose bodies have been recently found in al-Abyar, some 70 km east of Benghazi. A full, proper and immediate investigation is needed to uncover the truth.

In this context, we echo the call of the Prosecutor to all parties of the conflict to ensure respect for human rights and international humanitarian law in light of the provisions of the Rome Statute relating to the responsibility of commanders and superiors to prevent or repress commission of crimes by their forces.

The next issue I would like to focus on is abuses against migrants and refugees in official and unofficial detention centers in Libya. I mean arbitrary detentions, cases of torture and rape, other ill-treatment. In our view, the activities of the Office in collection of information and evidences relating to alleged crimes against these vulnerable groups, may have a preventive effect on these crimes and on illegal activities of human trafficking and smuggling networks in Libya.

Mr. President,

We strongly believe that difficult security or political conditions cannot be permanently used by any state for justification of its non-cooperation with the ICC. Especially, this should not be the case in situations referred to the Court by the Security Council.

It is completely evident for Ukraine as a country, whose situation is under preliminary examination in the ICC, that full cooperation with the Court by all States Parties, as well as non-States Parties, including members of this Council, as well as concerned regional and international organizations, is of outmost importance for successful fulfillment of the Court’s mandate.

We are also grateful to the Prosecutor for providing additional information about ongoing cases against Mr. al-Werfalli, Mr. Al-Tuhamy, Mr. Gaddafi and Mr. Al-Senussi. Without going into details, all these cases are being undermined by one similar and crucial problem. On the one hand, the Court continues to demonstrate its dedication to investigate crimes under the Rome Statute, but on the other hand, those in Libya with authority and control over the suspects did not provide assistance to transfer them to the Court.

In this respect, we attach considerable importance to Libya’s recent reaffirmation of its commitments to uphold the rule of law and ensure accountability, as well as to cooperate with the ICC. We are waiting for concrete steps from Libya in accordance to its legal obligations to facilitate surrender of suspects to the ICC.

In light of some recent positive developments in the political dialogue, we would like to conclude by emphasizing on the necessity of further support of the international community to the Libyan Government of National Accord in its efforts to restore law and order in the country, combat impunity and ensure right to justice for all victims. The active role of the Office in further discharging of its mandate independently and impartially will definitely accelerate this process.