John Gerard Hanafin (Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister of State and his officials. It is worth recalling the savage and brutal events that led to the creation of the International Criminal Court. Conflict among nations has resulted in great loss of life and destruction. In an effort to afford justice to the victims of this devastation, ad hoc tribunals have been established to ensure legal responsibility. It is not least where power is greatest. The trials of the last century, Nuremburg, Tokyo, the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, are testament to the efforts to stop violations of international human rights and to protect the most innocent and vulnerable victims of such attacks.

The International Criminal Court is a new departure in this struggle. Unlike previous tribunals, it is the first court to be established on a permanent international basis and it will be the first to be in existence before a conflict breaks out. This permanency should ensure a proactive rather than a reactive response to such atrocities in future. It will also let those who intend to perpetrate atrocities know — as we speak a serious situation exists in Darfur — that they will be brought to account sooner or later.