New York, 31 October 2016. Cuba reiterated today its position in favor of the establishment of an impartial, non-selective, efficient, just and supplementary international criminal jurisdiction within the national criminal justice systems, which is truly independent and, hence, not subordinated to political interests distorting its essence.
At the 71 UNGA Plenary, during the presentation of the Report of the International Criminal Court, the Director of International Law at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba, Mrs. Anet Pino Rivero, reiterated that the International Criminal Court cannot ignore the international treaties and principals of International Law, and conveyed Cuba’s serious concern about the precedent being set with the Court’s decisions to start off judicial processes against nationals from States non-party to the Rome Statute.
Within this framework, the Cuban representative highlighted that the Cuban people has been a victim of the most dissimilar forms of aggression during more than 50 years, “Harassment and aggressiveness have brought to our country thousands of dead and wounded people. Hundreds of families have lost their sons and daughters, parents and siblings, jointly with the innumerable economic and financial material losses.” She stressed that in spite of this, the definition of the crime of “aggression” reached at the Kampala Conference, is far from considering some of the aforementioned elements.
At the end of her statement, she made sure that although Cuba is not part of the ICC, our nation is willing to continue participating actively in the negotiation processes related to this institution, especially that of the “Report of the International Criminal Court” adopted each year by the General Assembly, and which shall reflect the positions of States parties and non-parties to the Court. Thus, she reaffirmed Cuba’s will to struggle against impunity and keep its commitment with international criminal justice, the adherence to the principles of transparency, independence and impartiality and the unrestricted implementation and respect for International Law. (Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations)