Topic: Strengthening the International Criminal Court
Country: Russia
Delegate Name: Jillian Hamersma
School: Forest Hills Central High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Russia position papers GLIMUN 2011 committees
Thirty-two countries, including Russia, have signed but not ratified the Rome Statute. The law of treaties obliges these states to refrain from “acts which would defeat the object and purpose” of the treaty. Russia mainly believes that the Rome Statue is a matter of national sovereignty. Just as with the issue of Syria, Russia trusts that most problems should be dealt with internally as to not upset the fragile structure of the world. Russia sees a problem in the fact that three of the big five nations do not agree with the statute. If three very unique nations with very different governments have all not even ratified the current statute, than why should the United Nations even consider strengthening the International Criminal Court (ICC)?
If anything, the Security Council should discuss how to water down the Rome Statute in order to get more nations on board. Because many nations (Russia included) have signed but not ratified the Rome Protocol, that act alone reveals that these countries do in fact support the principle of the International Criminal Court; they just do not want to be bound to it. The Russian Federation has long been an activist for national sovereignty, and thus, the nation will not abandon these beliefs now. The International Criminal Court should not have an authority that can surpass that of the individual country’s responsibility and jurisdiction. In order to give the Rome Statue at least some sort of legitimacy, the Security Council must find a way to get every country (especially the permanent members) to endorse the edict.
At the moment, the ability of the ICC is being capped by the lack of acceptance by the United States, the Russian Federation, and the People’s Republic of China. All three of these big five nations believe their own national sovereignty is at stake by the jurisdiction of the ICC. These countries have grown to be major world powers individually and so, they would not want anything to threaten their status. These nations are imperative to the solidity of Earth.
It seems that the United Kingdom supports the strengthening of the International Criminal Court wholeheartedly. The nation signed the Roman Statute quite early November 30, 1998 and ratified it on October 4, 2001. The Russia Federation, on the other hand, Russia signed the statute on September 13, 2000 but has not ratified it. Mr. Churkin of the Russian Federation was recorded saying on December 3, 2008 that “steps taken…to create [a nation’s] own capacity to investigate crimes that fall within the jurisdiction of the ICC should be encouraged.” So, the Russian Federation supports an International Criminal Court, just not an overbearing one.
