§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those countries which have yet to ratify the Rome Statute; and what efforts his Department is making to encourage those countries to ratify the Statute. [177716]
§ Mr. RammellA list of countries that have ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court can be found on its website at: http://untreaty.un.org/ENGLISH/bible/englishinternetbible/partI/chapterXVIII/ treaty10.asp.
It is a UK and EU objective to increase the universality and jurisdiction of the ICC by urging as many states as possible to ratify the Rome Statute. The 1138W EU has a Common Position and Action Plan in support of the ICC. The plan identifies target countries and the presidency tasks individual member states with lobbying exercises. The UK has lobbied in the Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana and St. Lucia as well as in Troika demarches in other countries.
The UK also looks for appropriate opportunities to raise ratification of the Rome Statute in bilateral and multilateral fora such as annual bilateral human rights talks and the recent UK/Caribbean Forum 10–12 May. We have also made clear, at various levels in the US Government, that while we understand the US concerns about the ICC, we do not share them. We hope that, over time, the court will be able to demonstrate that US concerns are unfounded and that the US will adopt a more positive approach to the ICC.
We recognise that ratification of the Rome Statute must be accompanied by the ability to implement the statue. We have funded a number of initiatives including courses, this year and last, for legal officials (mostly from Africa and Eastern Europe) involved in drafting implementing legislation, and are working with the Commonwealth Secretariat on a project to produce and disseminate model ICC implementing legislation.