August 5, 2024
I would like to congratulate the delegation of Sierra Leone on the assumption of the presidency of the Security Council. We wish you success, and we express our confidence that you will professionally lead the Council. I also thank those delegations who welcomed the Russian presidency in July.
Mr. President,
We have listened to the 39th report of the so-called Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) regarding the situation in Darfur. There is nothing new here. On the one hand, we see the usual self–applause with reference to non-existent successes and on the other – self-justification and finger pointing in search for someone to blame for all too real failures.
We are appalled by the fact that every six months since 2005 the Security Council has had to spend scarce time and resources to consider such useless pro forma reports.
Today’s report is no exception. Once again, Mr. Khan is justifying the ineffectiveness of his office by mentioning the hardships, lack of resources and insufficient cooperation. The ICC always has someone else to blame. Officials of this pseudo-legal body are pontificating about responsibility. However, they are not willing to assume this very responsibility when it comes to their own failures.
For Mr. Khan, it is a tried-and-tested tactic. We heard plenty of his vague reports, when he was the head of UNITAD. Then it became clear that this body had done precisely nothing under his leadership. That was the time, however, when he had already moved to the ICC.
It is high time for our colleagues on the Security Council to face the truth and draw sober conclusions. For two decades, the reports of the ICC prosecutors have served the sole purpose of simulating a teeming activity against the background of blatant sabotage of the tasks set by the Council. The current situation in Sudan perfectly disproves the hackneyed mantra that the ICC involvement is supposedly contributing to national reconciliation and stabilization.
On the contrary, this institution has nothing to do with justice, and its only goal is to carry out the political orders of its masters. Thus, it only exacerbates the situation, or even serves as a battering ram for “regime change”, as was the case in Libya with the arrest warrants for local leaders justified by low-grade fake information. By the way, none of the ICC officials was held responsible for fabricating evidence of non-existent wrong-doings. The internal investigation launched to divert attention predictably came to nothing. You wanted everyone to forget about it, Mr. Khan. However, we will not forget. This pseudo-court and its “hand-picked” prosecutors diligently “swept under the carpet” abundant evidence of crimes committed by NATO countries. None of the Western military, let alone leaders, have been held responsible for the atrocities in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as for the military aggression against Libya.
These topmost double standards and hypocrisy have turned the so-called International Criminal Court into an international criminal disgrace that undermines the very concept of international criminal justice. The high hopes of the international community were doomed to failure. With the creation of the ICC, the “collective West” has only gained yet another “obedient” instrument, which can be used to impose its will and fulfil its hegemonic aspirations.
In these circumstances, the ongoing farce designed to cover up the total inaction on the situation in Gaza is not surprising.
As a reminder, this situation has been under review by the ICC Prosecutor’s Office since as early as 2015. Thus, in almost a decade, not a single real step has been taken to combat impunity. The UN International Court of Justice, which is not a criminal court and became involved much later, acts much more decisively. And it’s clearly seen in the context of the current escalation.
What the ICC can boast of here is only dubious PR actions. Thus, over the past 10 months of a real bloodbath and humanitarian disaster in Gaza, Mr. Khan has done nothing at all. After that, for some reason, he trumpeted in all media about requesting (not issuing) arrest warrants. It’s been over two months since then.
On June 27, the Pre-Trial Chamber suspended the request for arrest warrants. In addition, the process of issuing warrants was stalled by the United Kingdom (Mr. Khan’s country of citizenship), which applied to join the process. An interesting coincidence, isn’t it?
This whole situation once again clearly demonstrates that the ICC obediently implements the policy of its Western masters, coordinating all its maneuvers with them in advance. For example, the British were able to apply for joining the process only owing to Mr. Khan’s disclosure of the information regarding the request for warrants. It is noteworthy, that no such announcements were made for other situations. On the contrary, even after warrants were issued, information about them was often kept secret for years.
We saw the news that the new British government publicly announced that it would no longer dispute the issuance of warrants. This only confirms that from the very outset it had nothing to do with justice. Whether to send it or not is a political decision of the West. Today they hinder it, and tomorrow they “graciously” allow it to happen. In such a scheme, justice, fairness and the fight against impunity are simply a “cover” to disguise political interests and behind-the-scenes games of the elites of the countries of the “collective West”.
No less revealing are the maneuvers of the United States, which imposes sanctions against ICC officials, then lifts them, but only to impose them anew later. Washington, which is not even a party to the Rome Statute of the Court, openly applies the “carrot and stick” tactic to it, reminding the stuff of this pseudo-legal body who they really serve and whose interests they defend.
However, let us return to the so-called report on the situation in Darfur. This paper clearly demonstrates how utterly futile and dysfunctional the ICC is. The only trial – against Ali Kushayb – began 17 years after the situation in Darfur was referred to the ICC. This is an imitation of work and an outright mockery of the concept of justice.
The twenty years of ICC’s procrastination in Darfur and its direct complicity in the destruction of Libyan statehood must be properly assessed, and concrete conclusions must be drawn. It is clear that the UNSC should never again refer new situations to this pseudo court. This is a given and not up for debate. The Security Council should recall both the Darfur and Libyan files from the ICC. We see no point in continuing the ritual hearing of empty reports.
The ICC itself treats the Security Council purely as a commodity. Moreover, through the alleged involvement in the UNSC agenda, it only attempts to increase its own importance. After twenty years of inactivity, this pseudo-court has suddenly become concerned with the situation in Sudan at the behest of its Western masters. Its officials are somehow convinced that there is a jurisdiction with regard to recent events. In this respect, we would like to emphasize: in 2005, the investigation into a specific situation was referred to the ICC. The ICC completely failed. The Council didn’t assign it to deal with the newest wave of escalation. Thus, the ICC is brazenly and cavalierly overstepping its mandate by interpreting the Council’s resolutions as it best suits them.
In general, the precarious “record” of the ICC clearly shows that justice, fairness and concern for victims are simply empty rhetoric for this court. It is time for the members of the Security Council to stop wasting time on the futile theatrics of the prosecutors and focus on assisting national judiciaries. Practice has consistently shown that if anyone is capable of addressing the issues of achieving durable national reconciliation and stabilizing the situation, it is them.
Thank you for your attention.