PARLIAMENTARIANS FOR GLOBAL ACTION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Sen. Raynell Andreychuk (Canada)
c/o PGA Int'l Law Program (New York)
Phone: (212) 687-7755 x103; Fax: (212) 687-8409;
E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

PARLIAMENTARIANS OPPOSE RENEWAL OF RESOLUTION 1422:
URGE CRITICAL DEBATE AT OPEN MEETING OF THE SECURITY COUNCIL

NEW YORK; June 11, 2003 - The open meeting of the Security Council on
Resolution 1422 (2002) must carefully consider the need, merit and legality
of a renewal of the resolution, said Parliamentarians for Global Action
(PGA) today. The organization strongly opposes this possible renewal.
Also, PGA welcomes the open meeting as an opportunity to assess the
implications of a twelve-month extension of Resolution 1422 on the
International Criminal Court (ICC), the UN Charter, and principles of
international law, such as the duty of states to prosecute international
crimes.

"PGA members have invested much time and effort towards the establishment
of the ICC," said Senator A. Raynell Andreychuk (Canada), convenor of the
organization's International Law and Human Rights Program. "As
parliamentarians committed to the fight against impunity, we expect our
governments to reaffirm their support for the ICC and take into account the
compelling arguments against Resolution 1422 before the Security Council
takes action on its renewal."

Resolution 1422, adopted last July, provides UN peacekeeping personnel from
countries that have not ratified the Rome Statute with a 12-month suspension
from investigation or prosecution for genocide, war crimes and crimes
against humanity by the Court. It is due to expire on June 30, 2003. An
open meeting of the Security Council on this matter has been scheduled for
Thursday, June 12th, and it is expected that the Council will vote on the
renewal shortly thereafter.

At various parliamentary conferences around the world, PGA
members have vowed to uphold the principle of equality of all before the
law. The organization fears that a renewal of Resolution 1422 would not
only put a certain class of persons above the law, but may also endorse the
view that the Security Council can amend multilateral treaties by unlawfully
acting under Chapter VII of the UN Charter in the absence of a threat to the
peace. Additionally, unopposed rollovers of the resolution each year could
eventually lead to the development of customary rules against the
universality of international justice. A critical public debate will serve
as a record of opposition to counter such negative consequences should
Resolution 1422 be renewed.

Reflecting the concerns expressed by the organization, several
PGA members have questioned their respective governments on Resolution 1422
and urged them to protect the integrity of the newly established ICC.

The Court was conceived as a preventive tool against mass
atrocities, which too often have gone unpunished. "One day we will be in
the position to witness how the ICC deterred a dictator or a leader from
ordering the killing of a human being - this is the true significance of the
Court," said Andreychuk. With the swearing in of the first ICC Prosecutor,
Mr. Luis Moreno Ocampo of Argentina, on June 16th in The Hague, the Court
will soon serve its purpose and play a complementary role in investigating
gross crimes committed under its jurisdiction, including the recent tragic
events in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

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PGA is an association of 1350 legislators from 105 countries united to
promote the resolution of global issues such as peace and democracy,
sustainable development, international law and human rights. PGA members
have promoted the establishment of the ICC since 1989 when A.N.R. Robinson,
then Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago and convenor of PGA's International
Law program, introduced the ICC in the U.N. General Assembly agenda. Since
its adoption, PGA members have promoted the ratification and effective
implementation of the Rome Statute, which entered into force on July 1,
2002.