By Beata Bruggeman-Sekowska
On February 8, 2024 a ceremony was held at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague, in the Netherlands to welcome the Republic of Armenia to the Rome Statute, the ICC’s founding treaty.
See the video footage here:
During the ceremony H.E. Mr Ararat Mirzoyan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia was offered by Judge Piotr Hofmański, the ICC President a special edition of the Rome Statute, as a symbol of commitment to the rule of law.
H.E. Mr Ararat Mirzoyan shared this milestone moment on X saying: ”It’s an immense honor to be here today for this historic moment of raising flag of Republic of Armenia’s at the International Criminal Court in The Hague! We believe ICC has an important role in the fight against impunity & potential to prevent further escalation & atrocities in our region.”
He added that Armenia’s consistent cooperative approach to the International Criminal Court is based on following major objectives:
- preventing most serious crimes which are of concern to international community as a whole,
- strengthening rule of law in international community
- achieving more universality of ICC
Armenia becomes the 124th State Party to join the Statute and it is the 19th State from the Eastern European group. The Republic of Armenia had formally deposited the instrument of ratification of the Rome Statute of the ICC on 14 November 2023. The Statute became binding on 1 February 2024.
Sources: ICC, https://twitter.com/AraratMirzoyan
Image: Marcel Elia via Pixabay, Youtube
Author: Beata Bruggeman-Sękowska is an award-winning international journalist, TV correspondent, author, chief editor of international journalism centre, Central and Eastern Europe Centre, president of the European Institute on Communist Oppression and a sworn translator. She was born in Warsaw, Poland and has also Armenian blood and roots in Lvov, which is part of Ukraine. She has been living in Heerlen, the Netherlands since 2005.
