Grenada joins International Criminal Court

NEW YORK, USA -- Grenada has acceded to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) -- the founding treaty of the first permanent international court capable of trying perpetrators of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.

Ambassador Dessima Williams, Permanent Representative to the United Nations on Thursday deposited Grenada’s Instrument of Accession to the Rome Statute of the ICC at a ceremony at the Office of Legal Affairs of the United Nations in New York.

Grenada’s accession brings to 26, the number of States Parties of the ICC in Latin America and the Caribbean and the last among the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). Only The Bahamas, Haiti and Jamaica in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) have not joined the ICC.

Williams said, “The government of Grenada is very pleased to join with many other CARICOM countries as well as 114 other members of the United Nations in acceding to this statute.”

“We look forward to being a very vigorous participant in the implementation of the Court to the extent that we could therefore bring about greater international law and order in the service of humanity for justice, for rights and for the efficient and legal administration of international affairs,” said Williams.

Ambassador Christian Wenaweser, Permanent Representative of the Principality of Liechtenstein and President of the Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties to the ICC welcomed Grenada’s accession to the Court and appealed to the remaining CARICOM states to join the ICC family.

“On behalf of 114 states that have so far made up this assembly it’s a great honour to welcome you (Grenada) as the 115th member to this assembly and that’s a very important further step on our part towards a universalisation of this Court,” he said. “We are looking forward toward welcoming the three remaining states of CARICOM also as part of the ICC family.”

The Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) said that Grenada’s accession confirms and reinforces the Caribbean’s important role in making the ICC a lasting and effective reality.

The Coalition for the International Criminal Court -- a civil society network of 2,500 organizations in over 150 countries advocating for a fair, effective and independent ICC and improved access to justice for victims of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity -- commended Grenada for its decision to join 114 other nations around the world and spread support for the ICC in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

“Grenada’s accession affirms its commitment to preventing and putting an end to impunity for serious crimes,” said Coalition Convenor William Pace. “This decision is an important step toward universality of the Rome Statute in the Caribbean Community, and we hope this will inspire other states in the region to join this extraordinary justice system promptly.”

In 1989, during the United Nations’ 44th General Assembly, Trinidad and Tobago submitted an agenda item on the establishment of an international criminal court for the Assembly’s consideration. This motion – which gained the support of a number of states, including all CARICOM member states – ultimately resulted in a consensus resolution that called for the creation of an international criminal court.

“The acceptance by Grenada of the Rome Statute restates in the most eloquent terms possible the continued commitment of the Caribbean Community to the ICC,” noted Justice Winston Anderson, Judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice, former General Counsel of the Caribbean Community, and Professor of International Law at the University of West Indies.

“The Grenadian acceptance also symbolizes the region's commitment to the maintenance of international criminal justice and the rule of law rather than the rule of the jungle. This is a proud moment in Caribbean jurisprudence,” Anderson added.

Earlier this week, government representatives from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Haiti, Jamaica and Grenada, notable jurists and personalities from the region such as A.N.R. Robinson, former prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, as well as ICC president Judge Sang-Hyun Song, the president of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) Christian Wenaweser, and the Coalition’s Americas coordinator Francesca Varda, gathered in Port of Spain for a CARICOM seminar on the ICC organized by the government of Trinidad and Tobago.

“In addition to welcoming this important accession to the Rome Statute by Grenada, discussions during the conference centered on the need for all states parties to fully support the ICC and to adopt legislation on Rome Statute crimes at the national level and allow effective cooperation with the Court,” said the Coalition’s Americas Coordinator Francesca Varda.

By joining the ICC treaty, Grenada will be able to nominate and elect highly qualified candidates for crucial ICC elections scheduled for December 2011, during which state parties will elect six new judges and a new prosecutor, among other key officials.