78th Session of the UN General Assembly
Agenda item 129 “International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals”
Statement delivered by H.E. Ms. Sanita Pavļuta-Deslandes, Permanent Representative of Latvia to the UN
New York, 18 October 2023
Mr. President,
I have the honor to speak on behalf of the three Baltic States – Estonia, Lithuania and my own country Latvia.
We would like to thank Judge Graciela Gatti Santana, President of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals for the annual report. We congratulate her and her team for the progress made during the past year.
We commend the important work of the Mechanism in ensuring accountability for the most serious crimes under international law. Now more than ever, strong multilateral, inclusive, rules-based international order is essential for the maintenance of global peace and security. It must be our joint responsibility to defend and strengthen it with all possible tools.
We believe that international judicial institutions like the Mechanism have a critical role in the establishment and upholding of international peace and security. However, effectiveness of the Mechanism in conducting its work relies on cooperation from States. All States should comply with their international obligations and fully cooperate with the Mechanism, including in apprehending remaining fugitives at large.
The Baltic states would like to take this opportunity to reaffirm its continued support for the important work of the Mechanism. The ongoing work of the Mechanism ensures that the legacies of the ad hoc tribunals, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, endure.
Further, we reaffirm our strong support to Mechanism on its work on peaceful settlement of disputes and congratulate the Mechanism on the significant progress accomplished during the past year, particularly as regards the appeal judgment in the Stanišić and Simatović case.
The tribunals and the work of the Mechanism have been instrumental in the jurisprudence and practice of international criminal law and in ending impunity for the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole. Together, they have added breadth and depth to international criminal law jurisprudence and administered justice in cases involving some of the most horrific crimes in recent history.
We appreciate that the Mechanism focuses on witness support and protection, and pays attention to the interests of witnesses and victims when considering early-release applications. It is unfortunate that there are several contempt of court cases where the accused have tried to interfere with witnesses.
The rule of law and the maintenance of international peace and security are at the heart of our foreign policy. We take this opportunity to reiterate our unwavering support for international criminal justice in general and for the Mechanism in particular.
Lastly, in order to further strengthen international criminal justice mechanisms, we strongly support the establishment of a Special International Tribunal to prosecute the crime of aggression against Ukraine.
I thank you.