Bernal, The International Criminal Court

Thanks to the support of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Institute for Political and International Studies (IEPI) a non-profit, non-governmental organization, presented the book "La Corte Penal Internacional: la universalización de la lucha contra la impunidad" ("The International Criminal Court: the universalization of the struggle against impunity") at the Colegio de Abogados. The activity took place with the participation of the citizen Presiding Magistrate of the Supreme Court and its Penal Bench, César Pereira Burgos; the citizen representative of the UNPD in Panama, Elizabeth Fong; the citizen president of the Colegio Nacional de Abogados, Carlos Vásquez Reyes; as well as the citizen vice-minister of education; the citizen Administrative Prosecutor Alma Montenegro de Fletcher and the citizen Deputy Attorney General Mercedes Araúz de Grimaldo; and with the attendance of ambassadors and members of groups which, on April 11, 2002, at the United Nations in New York, took part in a solemn, historic and special event by which they deposited the ratifications or adhesions which led to the entry into effect of the Statute of Rome and the establishment of the International Criminal Court.

The historic deposit of the sixtieth ratification of the Statute of Rome, which made this international treaty go into effect, took place during the ninth session of the Preparatory Commission on the International Criminal Court.

This International Criminal Court began its functions on July 1, 2002. Likewise, the entry into effect of the Statute of Rome meant the creation of the first permanent international tribunal that will judge individuals who commit the gravest violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws, including war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, with the hope to end the impunity of individuals and countries that violate international norms.

This historic event happened less than four years after the adoption of the treaty, on July 17, 1998 in Rome, which has been designated as World International Justice Day.

It was a brilliant day of hope for humanity, which showed us that we can put a stop to the enemies of the human race.

It was a day in our lives when we were happy to be part of a human race with passionate hopes. The International Criminal Court, an independent institution with its seat in The Hague, Holland, enjoys the broad and sweeping support of the world's governments, with the exceptions of the United States, China and Israel.

The establishment of this tribunal had been on the United Nations agenda since 1948, but it wasn't until after the massacres in Cambodia, the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda that the process of its creation was accelerated.

The arduous, dedicated and permanent effort of more than a thousand non-governmental organizations around the world and joined in a grand coalition worked tirelessly to achieve the necessary ratifications.

In this very important framework, and as part of IEPI's support for and commitment to the struggle against impunity and for the improvement of the justice system, we present this publication, which contains the principal instruments that establish and make possible the existence of such an important judicial organ as the International Criminal Court. The task of fortifying national justice must be considered fundamental for the consolidation of a true rule of law, which would allow us to live together in a perfect harmony in which we can finally say "Never again" to horrendous acts like those that happened in our country, like in the rest of the world.

Now is the time for Panama, like dozens of other states, to build a broad network of obligations to effectively cooperate in the judicial, law enforcement, information and financial fields, toward the end of facilitating the capture and extradition of those criminals who commit crimes against humanity or indulge in crimes of corruption.

And it is well known that human rights violations and corruption are two sides of the same coin: impunity.

We will resolutely support the enforcement of the Statute of Rome, if we really want to form part of an international community that seeks peace.

Also in this section:
US State Department, Human rights in Panama
Jackson, Ashura and Super Tuesday
Weisbrot, Call it a coup
Bernal, Impunity and modernity
Noriega, Doubts about CAFTA
ICFTU, Don't associate the Olympics with sweatshops
Fisher, Scarlet Letters

opinion

Impunity and Modernity