Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 17 December 2013

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade

Role and Functions: Discussion with International Criminal Court

11:10 am

Mrs. Fatou Bensouda:

Taking the decision to join any treaty is a sovereign decision that a state takes. From what I can see, I think that states have voluntarily decided to join. The ICC statute is a treaty and states have voluntarily decided to be part of the court. Some 34 of the 54 African states are part of the ICC. I always tell my African colleagues that this is a treaty they did not inherit. They all signed willingly and voluntarily to be part of the ICC, which is why it raises obligations for them to co-operate with the ICC.

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