Establishing an international court to try serious violations of international humanitarian law

Recommendation 1218 (1993)

Author(s):

Parliamentary Assembly

Origin

Assembly debate on 27 September 1993 (45th Sitting) (see Doc. 6902, report of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, Rapporteur: Mrs Haller). Text adopted by the Assembly on 27 September 1993 (45th Sitting).

Thesaurus

1. The Assembly refers to its Recommendation 1189 (1992) on the establishment of an international court to judge war crimes, adopted on 1 July 1992, and to the hearing it held on this question on 5 April 1993.

2. It notes with satisfaction Resolution 827 of the United Nations Security Council setting up an international tribunal to prosecute persons responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia since 1 January 1991.

3. The Assembly is in favour of establishing this tribunal as soon as possible.

4. It believes that the decision to establish it shows that there would not be any major obstacle to setting up a permanent universal court to try serious violations of humanitarian law, such as it advocated in Recommendation 1189; it takes the view that it is essential that such a court be established under United Nations auspices.

5. It believes that setting up regional chambers for a permanent universal court might facilitate establishment of this court.

6. The Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers:

6.1 respond to Resolution 827 in which the United Nations Security Council urged states and intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations to contribute funds, equipment and services to the international tribunal;

6.2 invite governments of member states to also respond to the appeal;

6.3 invite member states which have not yet done so to sign and ratify the 1974 European Convention on the Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitation to Crimes against Humanity and War Crimes;

6.4 submit a proposal to the United Nations Security Council to set up regional chambers for a future permanent court starting with a European chamber.