RI defers signing ICC Statute

RI defers signing ICC Statute

JAKARTA: Indonesia will not ratify the Rome Statute of the
International Criminal Court (ICC) until after the country has
reformed the current judicial system, a senior official said.

Eddy Setiabudi, an official at the directorate of security and
regional affairs of the Ministry of Home Affairs, said that ICC
was only an alternative after the existing judicial system was no
longer independent or effective.

"We will ratify it after countries that have ratified it
implement the Rome Statute. Besides, big countries like the U.S.,
Japan, China, Russia, and India have not ratified the Statute,"
he said in a discussion.

ICC, which came into effect on July 1, 2002, has international
jurisdiction over gross violations of human rights such as
genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of
aggression.

Some women activists said in the discussion that the
ratification of the Statute could break the culture of impunity
that often allowed violations to go unpunished. --JP