Mr. Chairman, Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Allow me first to add the congratulations of the Cyprus delegation to those who have preceded me for your well deserved election to chair this historic Conference which we are confident you will lead to a successful conclusion. Also our appreciation and gratitude to all those, Government and non Governmental representatives, who have worked hard to make this Conference possible.

All speakers who have spoken before me have supported the establishment of a permanent International Criminal Court. This is indeed a hopeful signal that we shall, at long last, be able to overcome the obstacles and difficulties that have prevented us so far from meeting the expectations of the millions of men and women who have been deprived of their inherent basic human rights and fundamental freedoms through the inhumanity of their fellow human beings.

During our deliberations here we must always keep in our mind that the beneficiaries of a successful Conference are fellow human beings who have reposed their faith upon us to put an end to their suffering.

We cannot continue to turn our back to the agonising cries of the victims of genocide, aggression, war crimes, crimes against humanity, the slaughtered, the tortured, the sexually abused, the refugees and the displaced.

We have no justification for losing this historic opportunity because if we do so we shall be the guilty ones having failed to gather the courage and the will necessary for the adoption of a final statute.

Cyprus has all along strongly supported the establishment of a permanent International Criminal Court for it firmly believes that the universal respect for humanitarian values is a prerequisite for the prevalence of universal justice and peace.

I cite in particular the call by the President of the Republic of Cyprus Glafcos Clerides during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting held in Cyprus in 1993, urging the establishment of such a Court and which received positive response by the other participants, who “recognised that the successful culmination of this initiative could provide the international community with an important instrument against international crime”.

The tragic experience of the two world wars and the continuing commission of atrocities have convinced us of the necessity of an effective permanent international machinery to ensure such respect.

Mr. Chairman,
My delegation has aligned itself with the statement made by the European Union Presidency.
Here I will be very brief and touch only upon certain issues which we consider of particular importance.

Cyprus supports an effective, truly independent Criminal Court able to carry out its functions. Therefore it is important to secure an independent Prosecutor empowered to act on his/her initiative.

Concerning the crimes to be covered by the jurisdiction of the Court, I wish to repeat our conviction that the list should not be selective. On the contrary it should cover all crimes of an international concern: genocide, aggression, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In particular, with regard to the crime of aggression we agree with those that have expressed the view that failure to include it would deprive the Court of one of its primary functions. It would also discriminate against the victims of such an abominable crime as the crime of aggression.

With regard to war crimes I wish to repeat our position that it should include the establishment of settlers in an occupied territory and changes to the demographic composition of an occupied territory, and the transfer by the Occupying Power of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies, or the deportation or transfer of all or parts of the population of the occupied territory within or outside this territory. It should also cover the destruction of places of culture.

Cyprus, a victim of aggression, continued military occupation, colonisation of the occupied areas in order to change the demographic composition and the systematic destruction of its cultural identity by the occupation forces and the violations of the basic human rights and fundamental freedoms of its people on a mass scale cannot but lend its support to the victims of such crimes wherever they occur.

Last but not least I wish to express our deep appreciation to the Italian Government for hosting this most important Conference in the beautiful environment of the historic city of Rome. We hope that Rome once again will witness the signing of another milestone in the universal protection of the Basic Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, as it did 48 years ago.

The delegation of Cyprus will work constructively during this Conference in order to contribute to the achievement of our goal which is the universal prevalence of justice.