EU Presidency Statement - Justice and the rule of law - the UN role

Mr. President,

I have the honor to speak on behalf of the European Union. The Acceding Countries Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia, the Associated Countries Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey and the EFTA countries, members of the European Economic Area, Iceland and Norway, align themselves with this statement.

Justice and the rule of law are at the core of the peaceful settlement of disputes and of harmonious coexistence both at national and international level. The failure of national systems and the unfolding of international crises are often consequences of the collapse of justice, the infringement of the rule of law and the perpetration of heinous crimes and violations of human rights.

The European Union, which is a community built upon mutually-agreed principles of law, remains convinced that an essential element to sustained stability in a post-conflict environment is the strengthening and consolidation of local rule-of-law capacity. During the last decade the nature of armed conflicts has radically changed: the number of internal conflicts increased rapidly. In this context the UN has often been called to intervene in the reconstruction of national societies disrupted by atrocious conflicts.

This in turn has implied a major change both in nature and scope of UN post-conflict peace operations. The Security Council has put an increasing emphasis on the need to restore justice and the rule of law at local level, when this is not achievable through intrinsic processes in the short run.

As a consequence, the UN is increasingly being involved in post-conflict reconciliation and transitional justice. Results achieved so far are encouraging: in Kosovo, Cambodia, Timor Leste, Sierra Leone, Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan. Liberia will be the next important test case, as the Secretary-General reminded us last week. The European Union is fully aware that each of these situations has its own characteristics which must be addressed accordingly. Nevertheless, further efforts must be made to draw lessons from current experiences in order to assess the effectiveness of UN actions in this area and to identify guidelines for the future.

The international community is sometimes called upon to intervene in order to put an end to impunity for the most heinous international crimes. In such situations, the establishment of ad hoc international criminal tribunals or the setting up of national courts with varying degrees of international assistance has made an important contribution to reconciliation in emerging, post-conflict societies. The EU also strongly believes that the International Criminal Court provides a powerful, permanent instrument of deterrence against such crimes. The EU will remain firmly committed to its effective functioning. The Court does not aim at replacing domestic jurisdictions. It may assume responsibility as a last resort and only when a State is unable or unwilling to do so. It is not just a judicial institution designed to prevent and put an end to the impunity of the perpetrators of serious crimes but is also an essential means of promoting respect for international humanitarian law and human rights law, thus contributing to freedom, security, justice and the rule of law as well as to the preservation of peace and strengthening of international security.

Mr. President,

The European Union supports the concrete proposals made by several of its Member States at the meeting of the Security Council at ministerial level on 24 September. It considers that rule-of-law elements should be included, as appropriate, in mission mandates. To this end, we support the strengthening of UN capacities in the rule of law, the enhancing of system-wide coordination within and outside the United Nations, the improving of consultations with Member States to mobilize their available resources and expertise. Furthermore, the EU supports the formation of legal assessment teams comprised of civilian police and other rule-of-law elements, as appropriate, in the planning process for new missions. These teams should participate in reconnaissance missions to the field in order to evaluate the needs of the host country and create an environment in which the application of and adherence to the rule of law can be achieved. Specific attention should be devoted, inter alia, to promoting the setting up of legislative transparency, reliable civilian police structures, independent judiciary, the right to fair trial and penitentiary system. In order to promote further consideration of these matters, we welcome the offer by the Secretary-General to provide a report and look forward to assisting him in this endeavour.

Mr. President,

Accepting and promoting this new approach entails the assumption of new responsibilities on the part of the United Nations. The EU believes that in accomplishing these tasks the UN should continue exploring all possible forms of cooperation with international organizations and institutions that can provide experience and expertise. In this regard the EU seizes this opportunity to reaffirm its readiness to actively contribute in restoring the rule of law at the local level in situations in which the Security Council might consider that the support by international organizations to such processes be needed.

Since 2001, the European Council has consistently recognized transitional justice and the rule of law as one priority area in the European Union's crisis management operations and set concrete targets for developing the relevant capacities. The Joint Declaration on UN-EU cooperation in the area of civilian and military crisis management, signed last week in New York by the UN Secretary General and the Italian Presidency of the European Union, is intended as a further tool at the UN disposal to achieve its targets. It will contribute to deepen UN-EU cooperation and provide it with reliable and sustainable mechanisms. The European Union confirms its commitment to ensure an early and concrete follow-up to the Joint Declaration.

Mr. President,

The European Union remains convinced that the success of a rule of law mission lies to a large extent in the capacity and readiness of local actors to be fully involved from the beginning in the achievement of the objectives. As a principle, local law should be applied to the largest extent possible. Rapid build up of capacities and subsequent hand-over to local ownership is essential.

The EU therefore fully subscribes to what was stated by the UN Secretary-General last week before the Security Council: "Local actors must be involved from the start. We should, wherever possible, guide rather than direct, and reinforce rather than replace. The aim must be to leave behind strong local institutions when we depart".

Thank you, Mr. President.

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