Speech by Hicham Cherkaoui

Chairman: of the Moroccan Centre for Peace and Law

Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute

New York, December 8, 2017

Check against delivery

Mr. President, ladies and gentleman

I would like to start by introducing myself. lam Hicham Cherkaoui, Peace Ambassador and president of the Moroccan Centre for Peace and Law, member of the Coalition for International Criminal Court. I have been working on the subject of the International Criminal Court for more than 20 years to identify its role, domains, and its importance for the national and international legal system. I have also focused all these years to persuade the Moroccan government to ratify Rome Statute. In this respect I would like to state that Morocco has made progress towards the ratification of the ICC. It was among the first countries to sign Rome Statute on 91h September 2000 and that the Equity and Reconciliation Commission, founded by the king, includes recommendations that state the need to adopt the ICC as a guarantee to prevent the recurrence of human rights violations. Moreover, the 2011 constitution states clearly the supremacy of international treaties over domestic legislations and the same constitution includes laws criminalizing war crimes, crimes against humanity and crime of genocide. These crimes were included in the penal law project.

Despite these positive measures, there is no political will on the part of the Moroccan government to join the global community to fight impunity.

Mr. President,

The International Criminal Court faces serious challenges. Significant numbers of countries particularly Arab and powerful ones are skeptical of the court. Another practical challenge is the need for adequate funding to assist the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor in carrying out investigations into human rights violations. Also, human rights undergo deterioration on global scale under the pretext of fighting terrorism.

The international community has accumulated a wide experience at the national and international level establishing firmly the principle of fighting impunity as a legal principle and a culture we are determined to keep despite any dominance of political powers in favor of tyranny and impunity. We have full faith in the international criminal court and its future role to offer hope to victims as well as activists to uncover all human rights violations that happen everywhere.

As a civil society, we outspeak with all languages and all international charters: No and No to the silence and passive stance of the international community towards what is happening in Syria, Palestine, Iraq, Yemen and

Burma ... History will bear witness to this silence and the passive stance because the soul of innocent people will keep disturbing perpetrators, and this silence will be forever a disgrace on the brow of everyone who contributes.

Mr. President

Finally, I would like to affirm our full support to the International Criminal Court and the efforts you have made. However, we disapprove of the double standard of the United Nations' organs when dealing with accountability. We strongly refuse that international justice becomes a trade brand to resort to by the international community whenever political and economic gains appear to cover heinous human rights violations or settle scores which affect the credibility of justice. History teaches us that there is no peace without justice.

, ..............................•...............................................

r� �_µ1 .fi.yJI �_).J r�I � <:?'.J�yt11 r� �J ,� r51 r�t ul J 1�1 �liJ UJ ·- -:11 �1 · � 20 o� U .lll 4.Jjl.1.:JI 4.....&...JI t · 1- w! · lA wli:Llil .ill · 'Lill .. J"'-' . UA � .J � . �.JA � _) .J UY .J

� :l.§.:iL-..Jl �_Ji.JI � .J-�ll �.:i .J � _,ll .J J .J.ll1 � _,.iWI r�I � � I .J \+i�l. ... 4i.:,.I .J lbi _).J�

� g � Li.J_) o�kA � c.19__;J1 �l �t+ui ulS yy..JI u� �:u11 � o4,.J'jl 11i �.J .�U:a.i � .t§.:il....o.o.ll 0_).J� yy..JI � LbiWul �I Wt...-.JI.J ul.....:...i)'I o� w�ji LU-O,;.,i LiS 2000

2011 _)_ji.,...i.:i L)OJ· ai'i � � 11i .wlS1+i.,i;f1 Jfi.:i r.:i.,J �t...J :iJk...:oS �.3.:i.ll ��I �\

�.?..J �LJ)'I � �I.?. ,yy,.11 �\.?.) 9.J.:i.ll ��I �I�� va�I �1y.JI � � 'F-y..JI tyk}I � <j�I �I � _y. .J � _,l\ �1�1 � 9 _,.:i.ll J;il_,JI _,.-,a I� .J (o.:i1./;ll wl�l.?.J 4-JS.J �.J.:i.ll �1y.JI � � L)OJ·ai'il\ uWy,ll � �.Jy..JI ��I u�WI t.Jfa <j.:iUll � ..blfa� �_Ji.JI �.J.ill �y...,i o.:ilj Y4c � � ,.t§.:il....o.o.ll 04,.JJ � � �4-:!J

. � �J �� 4..9.:il....o.o.ll � � lA 11i.J yli...ll � u)ij)'I W\.S..J �WI

J .:i.ll · .lJ.:i.iJI � � � :th ti! .:i.ll 4.Jj\.bJ\ �I 4.Jj\.l:JI 4..11.ll!JI � · ')\ .:i..i...JI .J UA.. ·� -� ->°'t�.J �. .J ... _),4-l.� ..

ul � �\ 9WI .:i)_,JI � u,ailll �I �1....a'j� �I JJ.:i.ll.J �yJI JJ.:i.ll �y--:u.J � w�l_jill � � 11i wlS4,1.iJ u_>Li J.bLlA o� � w� � 4.AWI ��\ � �t....i:i

1-1lbi "I Wi&i � .1w1 .-: .. 11 ,_ u .s , ,, . • _)f • • � c.S...,...,.,.-. � � �

A l.:.•:\AI\ • w..11 �\ r,. l '; " 'J ·U .:i.ll .. �, .. 11 wlilll . k'. • . ·.:i...i al:>� WI ,.............. � .J ""&-' r,,i.J ... J lJ:!,,l.r �.J � c� � c . • u'l � Ul�4 �).:ill9 ..... lA_).J;l.J �I .J W.J JlyJI.J �.J Y_)J,'-'l � w� lA o4,:i1 JJ.:i.ll �I 11i � �l...i �JS.�� _)\.c W_,.J 0.i.:i)4..11 � � � �yy,'11 yh....:::JI c:1.J)

.�w..11.J

WSl '� uyi_fo �\ j�.J �_,�I �4,jl L<..,.Jl lkcJ J<y ul �4Jll ��)I�\� �l · L J - .::11 ·.< - · 'i 4-.u\.hll 4..1 WI t · ;;.l:....1.JI 'J1 ;; · 1 1 ••. 1 ·l.ui -:11 4..u\li.i'J1 .• .:,.,� · u. � � .J � . � �yi t'° f-A ..>* 'it:' u.a '-:? � v-Y

LJ< t .ll1 _ \.:.-:L1\ · 'G..,.a • L-1 • � I � 114..J b.:i A..< � 1 �II • ;; we lJ �I 4..l\.w1 � "F .J (""'"'"'""" U_) lJA � � r1) �..J . ..) .J UC- ..) • � .J � I · W'il � _::_ t �I wl<1.-::y1 4-cl..1.i i, � 4-J��I I �Ui..11 L 1 wl :. • w ·· 1� .J u ' (.j� � • '"(t-'-', • � •• � .J .. .. c . ..) y.,i>4 �

.4..11.x:. U.J� r� Y .i,,j� lll wJ<i Y..J4-:ill 0t.i 4..11.wl �I�� w�b � 4J�I

<iJt1.jJJI rt...a • 'llll � .:..,1 re ·•11 ····" OJJ J r v:..r- J"..r- u-:--J