NEW YORK, December 16, 2017 (WAFA) - The Assembly of States Parties (ASP) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) meeting in its sixteenth session at the United Nations headquarters in New York elected the State of Palestine as a member of its bureau, according to Palestine’s Permanent Observer Mission to the United Nations.

It said that the election comes only two years after Palestine’s accession to the Rome Statute, which enabled it to become a member state of the International Criminal Court in 2015.

This decision reflects the confidence of the States Parties in the State of Palestine’s ability to assume this position and responsibilities, despite of its recent membership, said the delegation.

It said that Palestine had submitted a proposal adopted by consensus in which States Parties expressed their deep concern at attempts to intimidate with an aim of preventing cooperation with the Court, stressing the importance of supporting the states that are cooperating with the Court in order to ensure the Court‘s ability to exercise its authority in punishing those responsible for the most heinous crimes and bring justice to the victims.

The mission stated that all the States Parties have activated the ICC jurisdiction over the crime of aggression and accepted a definition that considers the occupation as a crime of aggression.

Riyad Mansour, the Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, said that the election of the State of Palestine as a member of the Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties of the ICC was another step in consolidating the foundation of the State of Palestine in international forums. He thanked the States Parties for their solidarity with the State of Palestine in facing the challenges and threats.

M.K.