NEW YORK – UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, and the President of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Song Sang-Hyun, on Friday, restated their commitment to strengthen partnership between the two organisations.
The two leaders made their position known in a joint statement on the occasion of the 10th Anniversary of the Relationship Agreement between the UN and the ICC.
The two leaders said in the statement that the relationship was a significant milestone in the collective efforts of the international community to end impunity for the most serious crimes of international concern.
The agreement, they said, was founded on shared belief that peace could only be served, if those responsible for the suffering of victims of unimaginable atrocities were brought to justice.
They said that the relationship agreement had provided a solid basis for cooperation between the UN and the ICC in several areas.
Article 2 of the Rome Statute signed by the then UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, and then ICC President Philippe Kirsch, provided for the structure of the relationship between these institutions.
NAN reports that the UN-ICC Relationship Agreement recognises the mandates and independence of both institutions.
It defines the scope of their relationship and outlines the conditions under which the UN and the ICC will cooperate.
The relationship, as elaborated in the Agreement, deals with both institutional issues and matters pertaining to judicial assistance and cooperation. [eap_ad_1] The negotiated Relationship Agreement provides for a wide range of institutional cooperation in areas such as exchange of information and the obligation to consult each other on matters of mutual interest.
Others are exchange of representatives, administrative cooperation issues, provision of conference services on reimbursable basis and the possibility for certain ICC officials to use the UN “laissez-passer’’ as valid travel document, among others.
Laissez-passer is a travel document issued by the UN under the provisions of Article VII of the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the UN in its offices in New York and Geneva, as well as by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). (NAN)
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