Mr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Establishment of an orderly civil society that respects democracy, rule of law and protection of human rights is a great challenge for the world today.

Over millennia people have realized that war is the greatest threat to these objectives. Justification and supremacy of military force as means of dispute settlement only painfully disappears from the collective memory of humankind.

However, we are moving in the right direction. Attainment of justice requires prevention, crisis management, ending impunity and establishment of responsibility for the use of force. Only when that is achieved people would feel that justice is done.

The task entrusted to this Conference is momentous and historic. For Finland the creation of the new Court is a priority which we actively and firmly support.

This project enforces the rules of international criminal and humanitarian law. It builds on the experience of the two ad hoc tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. By establishing individual responsibility for atrocities that only too often remain unpunished the Court will strengthen the rule of law and contribute to making the world a more peaceful place.

Mr. President,

The exercise of the jurisdiction of the Court is limited by the principle of complementarity. This concept is based on the acknowledgement that the Court and the national courts serve for the same objective and that the Court will act only in cases where the State is neither in a position nor willing to conduct national criminal proceedings.

Therefore we must not marginalise the role of the Court through further restrictions. They would hamper the functioning of the Court and compromise its objective of dispensing justice. In my view, this is one of the key areas which we should focus on in the weeks to come.

Mr. President,

The Court must be furnished with jurisdiction that will enable it to act speedily when a need arises. It must be able to exercise its jurisdiction without any additional consent requirements as these could block the investigation altogether or delay it significantly.

I wish to stress that justice delayed is justice denied. Jurisdictional efficiency such as gathering and preserving evidence would inevitably suffer if investigations or prosecutions of the Court may be postponed at the request of a State or the Security Council. 1 hasten to add, however, that we are in favour of the mandate of the Council to refer situations to the Court

Furthermore, giving the prosecutor ex officio powers to initiate investigations would in my view be essential for an effective Court. This would bring the Court within the reach of civil society. Victims and their organisations could submit information directly to the prosecutor. Adequate judicial safeguards should be included in the Statute to prevent the prosecutor from abusing these powers.

Mr. President,

We must keep our eyes open for all forms of violence. In contemporary armed conflicts women and children have become increasingly vulnerable to exploitation and sexual violence. We have to keep this in mind when we define war crimes and crimes against humanity. The same holds true with the day-to-day operation of the Court. As the experience of the two ad hoc tribunals shows, special expertise is needed for that purpose.

The end of the cold war promised a new start in international relations. However, even now the world community is not always able to respond to new situations. Conflicts are often civil and internal in character. Furthermore, no effective national systems may be available. In my view, it is essential that the mandate of the Court is extended to such situations.

Mr. President,

I subscribe myself fully to the statement made by the UK Presidency of the European Union. The leaders of the European Union reconfirmed their support for the establishment of the Court yesterday in Cardiff.

Let me also express our gratitude to the Italian Government for hosting this Conference. I also wish to pay tribute to Mr. Adrian Bos for his tireless efforts as Chairman of the Preparatory Committee.

I wish to extend special thanks to the non-governmental organisations for all the work they have done. Their invaluable contribution has greatly facilitated the preparatory work for this Conference.

I am confident, Mr. President, that the commitment and political will demonstrated here during the last couple of days will ensure the successful conclusion of the conference under your able guidance. Tragic events taking place today in Europe, Africa and Latin America evidence the clear need for the permanent International Criminal Court. It is the privilege and the responsibility of the delegations present here to make sure that the Statute for such Court will be adopted here in Rome this July.