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UNITED NATIONS, Nov 26 (APP):With the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has been involved in investigating crimes in Libya since 2011, reporting progress towards accountability in recent months, Pakistan has underscored the need for upholding the country’s judicial sovereignty.
“Although Pakistan is not a party to the (1998) Rome Statute (which established the ICC in 2002), we remain committed to credible and across-the-board accountability for international crimes,” Pakistani delegate Asif Khan told the UN Security Council on Tuesday.
“Selectivity and double standards erode confidence in the global justice system,” he said in a discussion on ‘ICC Libya’.
“The ICC’s legitimacy will be strengthened when its actions are guided strictly by impartiality and objective criteria,” said Asif Khan, minister at the Pakistan Mission to the United Nations.
“We, therefore, encourage the Office of the Prosecutor to uphold these principles consistently.”
The Pakistani delegate underscored the need for cooperation between the Court and Libyan authorities, hoping that ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor will continue to act with full sensitivity to Libya’s judicial sovereignty and legitimate concerns.
“A cooperative approach that ensures national ownership will yield the most durable and meaningful results,” he added.
Asif Khan called for continued constructive engagement between Libya and the ICC in a manner that strengthens national ownership and contributes to long-term peace, reconciliation and justice for the Libyan people.
Opening the discussion, ICC’s Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan told the 15-member Council that recent months have seen progress towards accountability in Libya.
“There is a new momentum towards justice in Libya, and we now look towards the first trial to be held at the Court in this situation,” she said.