Statement by Prosecutor Maria Zabolotskaya at UNSC Briefing on The ICC Libya Report
Today, the Security Council is convening to hear out another report of the so-called Prosecutor of the so-called International Criminal Court. This mechanism once again demonstrates its total disrespect for the Council by submitting another hollow paper that pretends to be an “investigation report”.
These documents always boil down to just giving more and more excuses for idleness and noncompliance with Security Council decisions on the part of the ICC. The most recent report was no exception.
As an instrument that is deeply politicized and has nothing in common with justice, the ICC does not implement UNSC resolution 1970 (2011). The Court achieved its main task at the Libyan track back in 2011. When serving the interests of collective West, it acted as a full-fledged accomplice in NATO’s military aggression against Libya. The crusade of the US-led coalition against this once thriving country completely ruined its statehood and triggered a protracted civil war which, now calming down, now flaring up again, has claimed or contorted hundreds of thousands civilian lives. Libya suffered immense economic damage and was thrown back for decades in terms of development. Countries of the region still suffer from the terrorist threat that was the direct consequence of those events. This is a real disaster, where the ICC is directly involved. The West set a task for the ICC – elaborate a disguise, some sort of a “fig leaf” to cover up for the unprovoked and unjustified NATO aggression. This was supposed to be done by dehumanizing the Libyan leadership, and particularly M.Gaddafi himself. Then ICC Prosecutor, L.Moreno Ocampo approached this task with a truly creative zest.
Within only three days he concocted a guilty verdict against the Libyan leader. It was based on the clumsiest of fakes. The first one was about supplying Viagra to the units on an offensive towards Tripoli to “stimulate their potential” and commit mass rapes. The second one was about the use some mysterious “black mercenaries” to commit “atrocities” that regular army units were incapable of. Today, such things are bewildering to recall. The address of the ICC Prosecutor is still available on the Internet. In it, he talks avidly and without even blushing about “all those horrors”, while standing against the background of the UN building. As we know, those accusations turned out a lie. Even Western NGOs refuted them. A scandal was about to break out.
The ICC needed to turn this off, so the Court hastily established an internal commission of inquiry. However, nothing is known either of the results of its activity or of the individuals held accountable for fabricating false charges. As a result of all this, the country was ruined, its leader eliminated without court of trial – in the absence of any perpetrators. Apparently, the fakes were self-generated, following the best traditions of the “highly likely approach”.
In general, the Libyan case clearly demonstrated that the so-called ICC justice has an on/off switch. It just takes one snap, one tip from Washington to make the ICC replicate fakes and start cases or on the contrary, terminate any activity that Western masters may find displeasing.
What happened after the shameful Gaddafi case we all know. For 12 years by now, the Security Council has been listening to regular reports why the ICC remains idle. Having accomplished the task that it received from the West, the ICC started to loosely imitate the investigative and judicial activity. Tales about some “secret arrest warrants” is a clear illustration of this tactic. The ICC failed to show any interest in the war crimes of NATO, a “purely defensive alliance”, during the invasion of the former Jamahiriya. It would not go against its masters, would it? By the same token, the ICC did not pay any attention to the massacre of M.Gaddafi. Apparently, the Court thinks that extrajudicial killings of “unwanted” are a normal thing.
As soon as the United States imposed sanctions on ICC judges and Prosecutor, preliminary consideration by the Court of American, British (and other NATO members’) war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq stopped in no time. As a result, there are hundreds of thousands casualties, but not a single perpetrator. The ICC is a real champion of “sweeping under the rug” the wrongdoings of its masters.
Our today’s briefer, Mr.Karim Khan, British by nationality, even came up with a special term to describe this. “Deprioritize” – that’s what he calls it. Exercise in nice rhetoric is something the Anglo-Saxons are very keen on. Why say you cover up for someone if you can just cite “deprioritization” and forget about the matter for good? Convenient, isn’t it?
I think this is the best illustration that shows who exactly defines the priorities of this puppet court and its puppet prosecutor.
This is exactly why we are not in the least surprised by the fact that ICC spends decades imitating some activity on the Libyan and Darfur cases that the Security Council relayed to the Court. Political tasks have been achieved, whereas justice was never a concern.
Today the ICC has other things to worry about. It has been given a new responsible task from the collective West and is currently working to deliver on it as best it can – by clumsy fakes and allegations that are not only brazen and totally groundless, but also immoral and inhumane. Following the depraved logic of K.Khan, children in armed conflict zones should be simply left behind in the line of fire.
The financial side of the activities of the ICC, a body that proudly boasts of its alleged independence, is a separate special topic.
Without second thought, the collective West openly pays for the ICC cases they are interested in under the disguise of making “voluntary contributions”. The sum of such contributions, however, has long exceeded all limits for such kind of financing and may be as large as the regular ICC budget. The same Western countries send teams o national investigators and prosecutors to help out the ICC by collecting data in its place.
Basically, the ICC has turned into a smokescreen which the United States and its satellites use to address their political tasks.
The ICC failed to meet the idealistic expectations of its founders. Its only destination is to oppose the “unwanted” states. The recent attempt of the ICC to pose as a charity organization for capacity-building cannot mislead anyone. This is merely a “piece of cheese in a mouse trap”. We must not forget that the ICC is controlled remotely. We must not forget who holds the remote either.
This is exactly why the developing states have started to think seriously of quitting the Rome Statute. Russia made this decision in November 2016. We recalled our signature under the Statute and announced that we were not going to become a party to it. We call on others who do not want to be paying for this show to follow suit.
We know for sure that many states have long stopped cherishing any illusions as regards this wrongful and politicized mechanism.
As far as the ICC, the United States is walking down the path of deception – it is clear as day. The US was the first to submit an official depositary notice of having no intention to ever become a party to the Rome Statute. The US also made numerous agreements that do not allow to turn over American citizens to the Court.
Everyone knows that the United States still has a law as regards the ICC which remains in effect despite all political speculations of the current Administration. This one is well known in legal circles as The Hague Invasion Act, because it not only prohibits all interaction with the ICC, but also allows to use any methods, including force, to ensure a release of those detained by this body.
We very well remember what the United States was saying in the Council regarding the ICC before the infamous K.Khan’s “de-prioritization”. All American statements invariably had a phrase that the International Criminal Court cannot holds no jurisdiction over nationals of states that are not parties to the Rome Statute. It is hard to argue with this one. But the United States has changed its course since then and now supports prosecution of third-country nationals coming from a non-party to the Rome Statute. Apparently, unless those are citizens of the United States or its allies.
What we have at the end of the day is that the US does not fall under the ICC jurisdiction, but at the same time the US does not let anyone withdraw from the Rome Statute.
This “stick approach” will not be working forever. Developing states will emerge from the pressure of the ICC that will find its way to the dustbin of history as a prime example of what the highest aspirations of the international community can degenerate into when ironed out by political expediency.
Mme.President,
We stress specifically that being a politicized puppet mechanism which stems from an agreement among a limited number of states, the ICC should not be given opportunities to interfere with the routine functioning of the United Nations and its bodies. Not a penny from the regular UN budget must be spent on this “puppet tribunal”. We strongly demand that the Secretary-General ensure that.
