"On behalf of the NGO Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC) and the Asian Experts Meeting on the ICC in Bangkok, we wish to express our horror and shock over the criminal attacks against innocent people in the USA.

We express our most sincere sympathy to the victims and families and people of the United States of America. As has been stated by USA authorities this catastrophe represents a massive failure of USA intelligence and national defense. The failure of the most powerful nation with the greatest resources to prevent such a crime reinforces the need for massive cooperation throughout the international community in outlawing, investigating, prosecuting and bringing to justice those who commit these most serious crimes against humanity which is what the International Criminal Court will do.

This horrific crime is a supreme example of the need for a fundamentally strengthened system of international criminal justice. The international Criminal Court is expected to be established in 2002-2003 after entry into force of the Rome Statute of the ICC. It will be permanent, independent and will prosecute individuals who commit genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Though the international community has not been able to agree on the definition of the crime of international terrorism, it is our unanimous opinion that yesterday’s acts of terrorism were crimes against humanity the murder of thousands of innocent civilians.

We appeal to the USA to use law to bring the perpetrators to justice and warn against indiscriminate unilateral military retaliation which has been the response to past terrorist attacks and which could result in more innocent deaths and a cycle of recrimination, revenge and terrorism.

The world community must join together in condemning this terrorist crime against humanity and join in using national and international laws in bringing those responsible to justice.

Note: The Rome Statute was adopted by a vote of 120-7 on July 17, 1998. 139 nations have signed the Rome Statute and 37 nations have ratified the treaty. The Rome Statute will enter into force after 60 nations have ratified the treaty.

Somchai Homlaor
Secretary-General, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development
William R. Pace
Convenor, Coalition for the International Criminal Court"

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