Chairwoman Hautala welcomes the announcement made on 2nd of February 2011, by Mr. Taieb Baccouch, Minister of Education and Interim Government Spokesperson, that the interim government is prepared to adhere to the Rome Statute, amongst other international human rights treaties. Universality of the Rome Statute is imperative in putting end to impunity for the worst crimes, Hautala noted. [:]

“The strong commitment to international criminal justice by the interim government serves a strong signal to the under-represented Arab world at the ICC,” she emphasised.

At the moment, only one state, Jordan, has joined the ICC from amongst the Middle Eastern and North African states, and of the League of Arab States, the Comoros Islands and Djibouti stand as only members of the world’s first permanent international court mandated to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

“The fight against impunity is fought hard. While there are atrocities that still continue to go unpunished, the state members of the ICC have failed to step up their support to the Court. Tunisia joining the global effort to defend justice is very much welcome,” she added.

According to Article 28 of Tunisian Constitution, the Rome Treaty can be ratified by the Tunisian interim government only by a presidential decree. After the elections later this year, the law could come into effect after having been ratified by the newly elected parliament.