"I would like to thank you personally as well as the Mission of Liechtenstein for having organized this important event, which allows us to voice our support for the ICC. My thanks go also to the Mission of Switzerland for its hospitality. I welcome the presence in our midst of the President of the Assembly of States Parties, Minister Sidiki Kaba. Luxembourg supports fully your objectives. Monsieur le Président, soyez assuré de notre plein soutien à votre important travail ! And I join the warm words of welcome already addressed by my colleagues to the Head of the United Nations Office to the African Union and Special Representative of the Secretary General to the African Union, Mr. Haile Menkerios. Thank you for the very candid assessment of the perception of the ICC in Africa.
I agree that we need to work better, together, to counter the negative perception of the Court and to restore trust in the ICC among African policymakers. One way to do this is to continue to explain the work of the Court and its important role - fighting impunity and providing justice for the victims - all over the world. It is also important to recall the principle of complementarity. The ICC is a court of last resort and will only step in where national jurisdictions have failed to address the worst crimes under international law.
In this context, I wish to underline the need to support the strengthening of national justice systems in Africa. If justice is administered and delivered at the national level, victims are also closer to the legal proceedings. This is especially important in the context of reconciliation after a conflict. I welcome in this respect the creation of a Special Criminal Court in the Central African Republic, composed of both national and international judges and prosecutors. This special court is part of the national justice system. It will not only help fight impunity; it will also contribute to capacity building at national level.
Creative thinking on how to ensure accountability is necessary concerning in particular the situations in South Sudan, in North Korea or in Syria and Iraq. The victims of war crimes in Syria have been waiting for action by the Security Council way too long already. Despite the double veto in May last year, we should encourage Security Council members to continue to work on options to ensure that those responsible for the atrocities in Syria are held accountable for their actions.
Finally, let me say that we fully subscribe to the proposed Action Plan to promote the universalization of the Rome Statute. The plan suggests useful concrete actions we all can take to promote proactively the universality of the Rome Statute, in order to put an end to impunity for perpetrators of the most serious crimes and to contribute to the prevention of such crimes at the global level."