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Bangladesh to ratify Rome Statute of ICC
Bangladesh will ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute those who commit crimes against humanity but the ongoing 1971 war crimes trial would not be held under it.
Bangladesh will ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute those who commit crimes against humanity but the ongoing 1971 war crimes trial would not be held under it.
"All required steps have been taken to give approval on the matter. The Cabinet meeting will finalise it within a few days," Ahmed said yesterday.
Asked whether ratification of the Rome Statute by Bangladesh would be of any help in the prosecution of 1971 war crimes trials, Shafique said it would help to prosecute future instances of crimes against humanity, bdnews24.com reported.
The law minister last week had said that Bangladesh's upcoming 1971 war crimes trials would be held under its recently amended International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973. ICC in holding trial of the 1971 war crimes, he had said.
The Rome Statute, the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC), came into force on July 1, 2002.
As of October 2009, 110 states are party to the statute, and a further 38 states have signed but not ratified the treaty. The ICC can only prosecute crimes committed on or after the date it came into force.
Bangladeshi authorities claim that 3 million people were killed in the country's 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.
