Topic: Universal Jurisdiction in Crimes against Humanity
Country: Syria
Delegate Name: Mace Ranazzi
School: Forest Hills Central High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Syria position papers GLIMUN 2011 committees
At this point in time, the nation of Syria has not signed the Rome Statue and therefore is not aligned with the International Criminal Court. By not signing the Rome Statue, Syria has withheld from allowing itself to be open to the jurisdiction of the ICC. While Syria finds the ICC honorable in its tasks of bringing war criminals to justice, Syria does not appreciate the idea of its own national sovereignty being challenged in order for such individuals to be tried.
The ICC is legally and functionally independent of the United Nations, unlike the International Court of Justice. Therefore, member nations of the United Nations have the choice whether or not to allow themselves to be open to the jurisdiction of the ICC. If a country so chooses this path, such as Syria and many other nations, then that should be it. However, if the ICC is separate from the United Nations, then why is the Security Council allowed the power to refer cases to the ICC? No body of power should have the right to try individuals outside of their home countries unless given that power by the country in question.
Syria’s wish is that since it has not signed the Rome Statue and withheld itself from the ICC’s jurisdiction, then the UN and the ICC will respect these wishes and never pressure or push Syria into having its citizens tried in the ICC. Syria is more than able to deal with its own criminals in Syria’s own juridical court system. If Syria deals with a truly heinous individual accused of horrifying charges against his fellow mankind, then yes, Syria may then be open to allowing this individual to be charged in the ICC, if his crimes were on a more global scale. If his crimes were only to affect Syria and its citizens, then it is in Syria where he should be tried and given his sentence, not in the ICC.
Any nation who does not wish to see their national sovereignty fringed upon would agree very much with the outlook of the Syrian government in this regard. It is not that Syria does not find the methods of the ICC honorable, but the way of going about things and lording over national sovereignty of nations is something Syria will never comprise upon. What is a nation if its national sovereignty is taken from it? Does it then not cease to hold its own power? How can it protect its citizens if the ICC can step in and extradite them to a foreign land for crimes that can be tried in its own country?
