§ Lord Ormeasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is their policy on the proposed international criminal court. [HL749]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean)We fully support the creation of an effective international criminal court to try those accused of the most serious crimes of international concern. We are continuing to play an active part in the negotiations which aim to agree the establishment of such a court at the diplomatic conference in Rome this summer. To assist the negotiating process we are convening, as the EU Presidency, a group of EU experts on the subject at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 25–26 February. We are also contributing 100,000 dollars to a UN trust fund to assist representatives of the 48 least developed countries to attend the diplomatic conference and the remaining meeting of the preparatory committee. I have today placed in the Libraries of the House a paper setting out our policy on the court in greater detail.