Thursday, September 7, 2006

NEW YORK, USA: St Kitts & Nevis has joined the International Criminal Court (ICC), becoming the 102nd State Party to the ICC treaty. On 22 August 2006, St Kitts & Nevis deposited its instrument of ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

In October 2005, Mexico's ratification brought the total number of ICC States Parties to a landmark 100.

William Pace, Convenor of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC) - a network of more than 2,000 non-governmental and civil society organizations that support a fair, effective and independent ICC - said, "Back in 2002 when the 60 countries needed to bring the Court's treaty into effect had been reached, it seemed remarkable that this had taken place in just four years.

"Now, just another four years later, we see that the Court's momentum has only continued to grow at an astonishing rate; and St Kitts & Nevis' ratification makes them the 23rd country in the Americas to join the Court. St Kitts & Nevis has joined with the majority of the world in showing its clear support for global justice and the ending of impunity."

Commenting on the St Kitts & Nevis' ratification, Francesca Varda, the Coalition's Outreach Coordinator for Latin American and the Caribbean said, "The CICC has been campaigning for increased participation by CARICOM Member States in the ICC. In June, we sent letters to all those CARICOM members who had yet to ratify the ICC treaty. We are pleased to learn that St Kitts & Nevis has acceded and we take this opportunity to once again call on St Lucia, Suriname, Grenada, Jamaica, Bahamas and Haiti to join the Court. CARICOM showed leadership in the creation of the ICC. Now it's time to ensure that legacy is going forward by having all CARICOM states join the Court."

The International Criminal Court is the world's first permanent global criminal court. It is not an organ of the United Nations but rather an independent body established in The Hague, the Netherlands on 1 July 2002 when the ICC treaty came into force. The ICC does not have jurisdiction over crimes prior to that date.

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