LOC23:36
20:36 GMT
DOHA, May 24 (KUNA) -- President of the International Criminal Court (ICC)
Judge Sang-Hyun Song said Tuesday that technical legal problems blocked the
investigation Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo planned to conduct into the
Israeli military campaign on Gaza Strip four years ago and other similar
probes in the occupied Palestinian territories.
One of these obstacles is that both Israel and the Palestinian National
Authority (PNA) are not members to ICC's Rome Statute, Song told after opening
the First Regional Conference on the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the
Ritz Carlton Hotel here.
Another problem is that the PNA is not a fully-sovereign state entitled to
ICC membership or to bring lawsuits to the court, he said.
Asked why the ICC brought a charge against Sudanese President Omar Hassan
Al-Bashir while his country is not a state party to the Rome Statutes, Song
said the case is different because the entire issue was referred to court
under a UN Security Council resolution.
The ICC can investigate the Gaza blitz or any suspected crimes in the
Palestinian territories only if the UN Security Council asks it to do so, he
went on to say, affirming the impartiality of the court in handling any
affairs of its state parties or other countries or regions under resolutions
by the council.
"As a Judge of the International Criminal Court, I would like to stress
that impartially and fairness are the cornerstone of all proceedings at the
ICC," Song stressed.
Dealing with the ongoing conference, Song said it "gives us an ideal
opportunity to discuss the furtherance of joint efforts against international
crimes that concern all of humanity."
"I hope that this historic event will pave the way for making the Rome
Statute system of international justice even more global than it is today," he
added.
The two-day conference, organized by the Public Prosecution Department in
cooperation with the Arab League, aims to provide information about the
function of the Rome Statute as well as the legal framework, mechanisms that
ensure the impartiality of ICC, the policy of the Prosecutor's Office and ways
to promote the protection of human rights in court proceedings. (pickup
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KUNA 242336 May 11NNNN