Ministry Statements & Speeches:
Thank you Madam Chair.
First, New Zealand would like to take this opportunity to thank the secretariat and the bureau for their work in convening us in this resumed session. We further thank the International Law Commission, and the special rapporteur, for all of the work they have carried out on the draft articles.
And we welcome this opportunity to discuss the articles substantively in this format, in order to further identify areas of convergence, and to further consider which aspects of the draft articles might require some greater clarification or elaboration.
As many others have said, the Draft Articles represent an opportunity to address a gap in the international legal framework, particularly in addressing inter-state cooperation in national laws on the prevention of crimes against humanity, and also in the area of state responsibility.
In this respect they are an important step in efforts to ensure serious international crimes are prevented, and that those responsible for them are held accountable. And we support elaboration of a Convention, based on the Draft Articles.
As a general comment, New Zealand is pleased to observe that the Draft Articles have been formulated in a way which complements the Statute of the International Criminal Court. This is important in order to ensure coherence across international law. But as stated by my distinguished colleague from the UK we also think it could be useful to focus our discussions here primarily on the substance of each draft article in these debates, rather than on the Rome Statute as such.
With regards to the preamble, New Zealand supports the International Law Commission’s persuasive reasoning regarding the peremptory nature of the prohibition of crimes against humanity.
And we support the scope of the draft articles as articulated in Draft Article 1.
I thank you Madam Chair.