We would like to make this statement on behalf of the following members of the Security Council that are States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC): Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, France, Gabon, Ghana, Malta, the United Kingdom, and our own countries, Japan and Switzerland.
We thank the ICC Prosecutor, Mr. Karim Khan, together with his team, for presenting the 25th report of his Office to the United Nations Security Council on the situation in Libya, in accordance with Security Council resolution 1970.
We recognize further steps taken by the Prosecutor’s Office to implement the renewed strategy for action in relation to the Libyan situation which was presented in the report issued in April last year. We welcome that concrete actions have been taken with respect to evidence collection; the issuance of arrest warrants; contributions to domestic investigations; and an increase in engagement with affected communities, victims’ groups, and civil society organizations, in cooperation with the Libyan authorities. Moreover, coordinated investigative activities and international cooperation with the third states and international agencies are essential in the situation in Libya: they do lead to concrete results.
We encourage the ICC to continue its efforts to enhance its engagement in Libya. We express our hope to see further cooperation from the Libyan authorities, including on access to documents, engagement with relevant technical authorities, responses to requests for assistance, and the issuance of visas. We take note of efforts to this end, including toward establishing a liaison office in Tripoli.
We reiterate our unwavering commitment to uphold and promote the principles and values of the Rome Statute, and we will continue to comply with our cooperation obligations in the context of the situation in Libya. We encourage all States to fully support the Court in carrying out its mandate, in accordance with Security Council resolution 1970 (2011).
Finally, we underline the important role played by the ICC in international peace and security. In this regard, we reaffirm our support for the Court as an independent and impartial judicial institution. The ICC embodies our collective commitment to fight against impunity for the most serious crimes under international law.
Thank you.