| Welcome speech by Sir John Kaputin at the seminar on “International Justice, Factor of Peace or Division?” Wednesday, 5 September 2007
Mr. Fausto Pocar – President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
(ICTY) I would like to warmly welcome you all, the participants, to the ACP House. Indeed, it is always a pleasure to see both old and new faces around the House particularly to discuss issues as important as our theme for today’s meeting. The theme of our meeting “International justice, factor of peace or division?” gives the impression that justice itself is a contentious subject. On face value, this is interesting because one would have thought that justice and peace are universal values. These are qualities that a person relates to as he or she interacts with the social environment. But justice and peace can also be cast widely as inherent principles of natural justice. I do not intend to become philosophical about the subject matter, but when we look at the history of mankind, people have been continuously looking for peace and justice. Sadly, history also is inundated with numerous instances where groups of people end up in conflict with one another when very often they each feel that peace and justice have not been granted to themselves respectively. And we are here for this meeting asking ourselves whether international justice is a source of peace or one that incites division. I believe an appropriate answer to this question depends on the situation at hand. Along that line, I am aware that questions have been raised about the legitimacy of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. We are fortunate to have experts with us today who would be able to shed light on this subject. I do however wonder sometimes about the counterfactual scenario if we were not to create elaborate mechanisms such as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to address issues of peace and justice. How better off or worse off would the world be if such institutions were not created at all? I personally believe that it is a better and comforting scenario if we place hope on something that we have created to address noble causes such as the search for peace and justice, compared to a situation where we expect peace and justice to be manifested by fate. It is in that vein that the ACP Group in 2005, when it revised the Cotonou Agreement - the legal framework of its partnership with the European Union - reaffirmed in the Preamble that “the most serious crimes of concern to the international community must not go unpunished and that their effective prosecution must be ensured by taking measures at national level and by enhancing global collaboration.” Regarding more specifically the International Court of Justice (ICC), the ACP and EU agreed, in the same Preamble, to consider “that the establishment and effective functioning of the ICC constitutes an important development for peace and international justice.” Having in mind such commitments, one can easily understand the interest with which the ACP Secretariat as well as the ACP Group will hear from the eminent personalities and high level experts who have gathered here today to exchange their views on an essential item of the international agenda. Our expectations are high, but we are confident that the outcomes of your meeting will meet the expectations. Having been involved in 1996 in the reconciliation process following the Burundi/Rwanda conflict, on behalf of the ACP Group, well before taking up this current assignment; and as a Special State Negotiator, appointed by the Government of Papua New Guinea, to deal with the Bougainville Crisis between 1988-1998; as well as the Fiji Coup of 1999, the theme of your Conference is of great personal interest, now as Secretary General of this Organisation. Once more, I welcome you to the ACP House and I wish you all a very good meeting. Thank you very much.
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