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Deposit of the Instrument of Accession to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court（ICC）

July 18, 2007

  1. On July 17 (Tue) (Japan time: 18 July (Wed)), the instrument of accession to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) was deposited by Mr. Kenzo Oshima, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations (U.N.), with the U.N. Secretary-General, at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York.  Japan will officially become a State Party to the Statute on October 1 this year.  Japan’s accession to the ICC is meaningful in contributing to the promotion of the “Rule of Law” in the international community, which is part of the “Value-Oriented Diplomacy” that Japan upholds.  July 17, on which Japan deposited the Instrument, is recognized as the World Day for International Justice in commemoration of July 17, 1998, the date on which the Rome Statute was adopted.
     
  2. The ICC is the first-ever permanent international criminal court to prosecute and punish, in accordance with international law, persons who have committed the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole, such as the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
     
  3. Japan has consistently supported the ICC activities since the Court was established, with the purpose of eradicating and preventing grave crimes and ensuring the “Rule of Law.”  Japan intends, once it becomes a State Party to the ICC, to proactively support the ICC activities further through not only financial but also human resources by providing Japanese staff members, including a judge.  As part of this contribution, Japan decided to nominate Ms. Fumiko Saiga, Ambassador in Charge of Human Rights and Member of the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), as a candidate for the by-election of ICC judges to be held in December this year, and has been making efforts to obtain a seat for the candidate.
     
  4. The Rome Statute came into effect on July 1, 2002, and has 104 States Parties as of July 16.
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