Maldives to sign Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court

The parliament today endorsed a proposal to sign the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

In today’s parliament sitting, 61 out of the 64 members present voted in favour of the proposal while three voted against it. Only one member abstained.

Presenting the parliamentary National Security Committee’s findings, Chair Abdulla Yamin said the committee sought the suggestions of the Attorney General’s (AG) Office, Prosecutor General’s (PG) Office and Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM).

Mulaku MP Yamin stressed that most countries of the world adopted the treaty because of the fear that some trials could not be held in the country.

Yamin said the International Criminal Court (ICC) has the jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

“All the countries that sign the treaty believe that such cases should be looked into with an international jurisdiction. Several countries that want to look into such cases through international jurisdictions sign the treaty in the belief that the establishment of the International Criminal Court will strengthen the international justice system,” he said.

Yamin noted that joining the treaty would strengthen the Maldives’ criminal justice system and the human rights record and would facilitate in drafting new legislations regarding the treaty.

Source: http://www.haveeru.com.mv