Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke has revealed that the Federal Government is currently articulating a scheme of compensation and rehabilitation for victims of Boko Haram attacks.
Speaking at the third plenary of the 12th Session of the Assembly of State Parties, World Forum Theatre, The Hague, Adoke reiterated Nigeria’s belief that the rehabilitation and compensation of victims of heinous crimes are matters of serious concern.
“Nigeria believes that the rehabilitation and compensation of victims of heinous crimes are also matters of serious concern”, he said.
“In this regard, Nigeria is articulating a scheme of compensation and rehabilitation for victims of Boko Haram attacks in line with the recommendation of a Presidential Committee on Dialogue and Reconciliation. Nigeria is therefore supportive of the Trust Fund for Victims of International crimes and calls on State Parties to contribute generously to the Fund.
“Nigeria notes the importance ascribed by the court to the need for capacity building of state parties in the areas of cooperation and positive complementarity and calls on the court to intensify its training and outreach programmes in order to engender the requisite capacity of State Parties”.
Speaking earlier, Adoke restate the deep appreciation and commendation of the Nigerian delegation for the court’s purposeful direction of the affairs of the Assembly of states parties and the organisation of the 12th Session of the Assembly.
Pledging Nigeria’s support and cooperation towards the attainment of the objectives of the session, he assured that Nigeria remains committed to the ideals of the Rome Statute and greatly appreciates the work of the Court since its inception 15 years ago.
“My delegation joins other state parties in congratulating the president, the judges, the prosecutor and the registry of the court for their hard work and commitment to the mandate of the court by ensuring that the most heinous crimes of international concern do not go unpunished”, he said.
“It is this commitment that motivated our early ratification of the Rome Statute and the steady progress recorded by the Bill for the domestication of the Rome Statute, which has now passed the stage of Second Reading in our Legislative Assembly.
“My delegation firmly believes that the court can only succeed in its mandate with the cooperation and goodwill of state parties. We are therefore naturally concerned about the frosty relationship between the court and the AU, which appears to have worsened over the years. The overwhelming number of indictments issued by the court in Africa, the court’s tendency to focus more on the pursuit of justice to the detriment of measures aimed at fostering peace and reconciliation and the non-recognition of customary international law immunities for serving heads of state and government have been thorny issues.
“Nigeria therefore welcomes the Special Segment dedicated to the issue of the ‘indictment of sitting heads of state and government and its consequences on peace, stability and reconciliation with the hope that the frank exchanges between state parties will bring these challenges to the fore with a view to proffering solutions that would further reinforce our support and cooperation with the Court”.
He reaffirmed the decision of the Extra Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union of 12th October 2013 on its relationship with the court, saying the Nigerian delegation had expected the UNSC’s favourable consideration of the request for deferral by Kenya made pursuant to Article 16 of the Rome Statute as a way of easing the prevailing tension between the AU and the Court.
“We were therefore disappointed that the vote on the issue was taken without exhaustive consideration of the realities and peculiarities of the Kenyan situation and its consequences for peace and reconciliation in that country. It is our hope and expectation that the Assembly of state parties will give serious consideration to these issues in the course of the special segment.
“The principle of complementarity embedded in the Rome Statute serves as a mechanism of cooperation between states and the court. The realisation by states that national jurisdictions have primacy over the prosecution of crimes covered by the Rome Statute, and that it is only where they fail or are unable to discharge this responsibility, that ICC jurisdiction is triggered, should engender cooperation between the court and State Parties.
“This is best exemplified by the constructive engagement that Nigeria has had with the court with regard to civil disturbances and security challenges in the country, which are the subject of preliminary analyses by the court.
“The preliminary findings by the prosecutor, visits by the prosecutor and lately, the president of the court have galvanized popular support across broad segments of the society for government’s efforts to address these security challenges and the results are beginning to be evident.
“The prosecution of those responsible for these crimes that the findings of the Prosecutor, categorized as Crimes Against Humanity has recorded 11 convictions in the past one-year; while the prosecution of several suspects for these crimes is ongoing”.
Adoke also spoke on Nigeria’s recognition of the importance ascribed by the court to the need for capacity building of state parties in the areas of cooperation and positive complementarity and calls on the court to intensify its training and Outreach programmes in order to engender the requisite capacity of State Parties.
“In conclusion, Nigeria notes with satisfaction, the increased tempo of activities of the court and appreciates that given new and emerging challenges; this increased tempo must be sustained and matched with commensurate resources”, he said.
“Nigeria will continue to discharge its financial responsibilities under the statute and will support any measure aimed at strengthening the ability of the court to effectively discharge its mandate and meet increasing demands and expectations”.
