Mr President,
I thank the Prosecutor Ms Fatou Bensouda for the report and her briefing.
Let me start by reaffirming Estonia’s unwavering commitment to promoting respect for international law and rules-based international order. Estonia reaffirms its full confidence in the Court as an independent and impartial judicial institution, and expresses strong support to the work of the Court and its Prosecutor. The ICC has a particular role of eliminating impunity and ensuring justice for the victims for the crimes enshrined in the Rome Statute, and the right to do so without impediment.
Mr President,
In the first place, Estonia would like to highlight some of the positive developments that have taken place in the Sudan during the latest reporting period.
We welcome the signing of the Juba Peace Agreement on 3 October and the importance that it affords to cooperation with the ICC, including full and unlimited cooperation with regard to suspects for whom ICC arrest warrants have been issued.
Estonia further commends steps taken by the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) to enhance dialogue with the Government of Sudan, in particular the Prosecutor’s visit to Sudan in October and the Government’s firm commitment expressed during the visit to work with the OTP in the interest of the victims, as well as the beginning of a formulation of a memorandum of understanding between the Government and the Court.
At the same time Estonia remains concerned about the security situation in Darfur. We condemn the killing of and all kind of violence against civilians, especially against women, children and displaced persons – this must stop, and perpetrators must be brought to justice.
We also hear the concerns of Darfurian people regarding the impending withdrawal of UNAMID, and we urge the Sudan to step up its civilian protection capacities, as to avoid any security vacuum in the region. We hope that the Sudan will be cooperating closely with UNITAMS to help to build these capacities.
Mr President,
We recall the time tested truth that peace cannot be achieved without justice. We welcome the voluntary surrender of Ali Muhammad Ali Abd–Al-Rahman (“Ali Kushayb”) in the Central African Republic in June. We further take note of the plans of the Office of the Prosecutor to carry out vital investigative activities in the Sudan at the earliest opportunity, and the challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Estonia calls on the Sudan to follow through on meaningful cooperation with the ICC. In order to ensure implementation of obligations arising from the Security Council resolution 1593, we call on the Sudan to grant the ICC full, prompt and unimpeded access to its territory. We further call on the Sudan to work with the Court to apprehend and hand over the remaining four suspects to the ICC to be tried for crimes committed under the Rome Statute.
Mr President,
In conclusion, we see time and time again that in any peace process, the rebuilding of a resilient society needs to include the elimination of impunity. In the name of ensuring justice for the victims of crimes committed, we remain expectant and hopeful that by the next reporting period there will be concrete positive steps taken in this direction.
Thank you.