SPEECH DELIVERED BY HIS EXCELLENCY
MISTER BLAISE COMPAORE,
PRESIDENT OF BURKINA FASO
------------------------AT
THE HIGH LEVEL SEMINAR ON SYNERGY BETWEEN
CONFLICTS MANAGEMENT AND THE PLACE OF
LEGAL ACTION NOTABLY THE ROLE OF THE
INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT
The Hague, 09 November 2011
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Your excellencies Heads of State and Government;
Honourable Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court;
Eminent personalities of the justice and human rights community;
Ladies and gentlemen;
Crises continue to affect some regions of the world and the resulting
humanitarian dramas call on the entire international community on the need to
come up with effective mechanisms and strategies for their peaceful settlement.
This gathering is particularly important for the international community in its
permanent quest for justice, peace and stability.
Its holding at a time when the whole world has a particular thought for Dag
Hammarskjöld, former UN Secretary General, is evidence of the willingness of all
nations to celebrate the commitment and engaged action of this great man in
favour of preventive diplomacy and peaceful settlement of conflicts.
I wish to pay a deserved tribute to the memory of this man of peace whose
example continues to inspire us in our daily efforts to seek peace. I extend my
sincere gratitude to the Swedish Government and to Mister Luis Moreno
Ocampo, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), for the
organization of this meeting which purpose is to capitalize various experiences
on conflicts management.
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Ladies and gentlemen,
Burkina Faso is attached to the virtues of mediation through which a number of
crises in Africa especially in Cote d’Ivoire, in Togo, in Guinea Conakry and in
Sudan were settled. During its mandate as president of the Security Council, my
country together with other countries, has shared its views on the rationale of
this option to safeguard peace.
Discussions conducted on the basis of our proposals led to the adoption of a
presidential statement which comes under the guidelines of the 1907 The Hague
Convention on the peaceful settlement of disputes, the Pact of the Society of
Nations, the 1928Briand-KellogPactand Article 2 of the UN Charter.
In this regard, the reflection on the theme of this seminar has a tremendous
importance for the international community.
Eminentpersonalities;
Ladies and gentlemen,
Analyses conducted by several groups show a dichotomy between the
imperative quest of peace and legal actions.
These diverging theses appeared in most peace processes that we had the
daunting task to conduct.
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That is why we always opted for holistic and inclusive approaches, as political
solutions and legal actions are equally important. Although serious violations of
international humanitarian law and human rights committed during conflicts
should not remain unpunished, it is imperative to work toward a successful
implementation of actions intended to achieve these two objectives.
Whereas some issues intimately related with legal actions against presumed
authors of crimes committed during armed conflicts are easy to apprehend
during the facilitation and mediation process, other issues including the ICC
intervention may appear difficult to handle during talks.
The choice to grant a general or limited and conditionalamnesty to combatants
of the parties in a peace agreement during the negotiation phase, to create
platforms for the promotion of internal dialogue and reconciliation, or to set up
mechanisms for transitional justice and compensation for victims, are within the
reach of all the parties and will have little impact on the negotiation process.
Increasingly, it appears that if these issues are referred to in the negotiated
agreement alongside the sharing of wealth and resources, this agreement is
likely to be supported by partners during its implementation.
These issues shall be part of peace talks and resulting peace agreements.
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That is how they appear in the latest peace document, namely the Doha paper
for peace in Darfur and in most previous agreements including the Ouagadougou
Peace Agreement together with its additional agreements.
Your excellencies Heads of State and Government;
Ladies and gentlemen;
The amnesty, considered as a supportive measure in many conflicts raises
substantial issues in international law and sometimes further complicates the
signing of an agreement to end hostilities considering the internationalization of
human rights protection.
Under the inter Ivorian direct dialogue which led on March 4th, 2007 to the
signing of the Ouagadougou Political Agreement, the issue of amnesty was dealt
with at length during the entire negotiation process, in order to reconcile the
imperative of peace and the quest of justice.
Among the measures aiming at consolidating national reconciliation, peace,
security and free movement of people and goods, both parties in the direct
dialogue decided to adopt a new amnesty law covering crimes in relation with
violations against state security in connection with the unrest that affected Cote
d’Ivoire and which were committed between September 17th, 2000 and the date
of entry into force of this agreement, at the exclusion of economic crimes, war
crimes and crimes against humanity.
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With this in mind, amnesty which abolishes public action focuses on peace in a
post-conflict society with the aim to reconciling hearts and rebuilding a society
torn apart by violence. This amnesty was welcomed by all actors of a Cote
d’Ivoire reconciled with itself and engaged in national construction.
Your excellencies Heads of State and Government;
Ladies and gentlemen;
I wish to give my appraisal of the difficult situation in which the ICC intervenes
when the parties are discussing.
In the case of a complex conflict similar to the one in Darfur, it is important to
know how to catch opportunities of normalisation at a given period in time, in
order to take all chances to make progress toward sustainable peace, to lay the
foundations for justice and a comprehensive political settlement of the crisis.
The issuing by the ICC of an arrest warrant on March 4th, 2009 against President
El Bechir, at a time when the efforts of the international community aimed at
promoting a negotiated solution to the crisis in Darfur, was likely to hamper the
ongoing political process.
Peace and justice were the two components of the comprehensive solution to
the crisis in Darfur. The two objectives may mutually reinforce each other and to
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us it does not seem timely that the quest of justice be privileged when the
application of a political solution was indispensable.
In the Republic of Guinea, the launching of preliminary enquiries by the
International Criminal Court to establish human rights was a catalyst for the
return to dialogue among all the actors toward accelerating and consolidating
national reconciliation process.
Ladies and gentlemen;
Transitional justice may appear as an alternative mode of settling the peace –
justice dilemma. This kind of justice should be promoted to address difficulties
in reconciling peace and justice in the settlement of some crisis.
In a prospect of social healing, the requirement of justice is not absolute.On the
contrary, it should be in balance with the need for peace, democracy and the rule
of law.
Transitional justice which mission is to restore links within the society by
specifying the responsibilities of all its members, should be implemented around
a number of well-coordinated mechanisms.
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We will specifically focus on legal actions which are of interest to the ICC and the
Truth and Reconciliation Commissions.
Regarding legal actions, it is important to recall that international conventional
and customary law compels States to investigate violations of human rights and
to publish the authors of these violations. In practice however, the political and
conflict environment in which legal actions are engaged, requires some
flexibility.
Legal actions may increase the complexity of disarmament operations. If the
absence of legal action against combatants may appear as impunity, this may be
addressed by other mechanisms such as the Truth and Reconciliation
Commissions.
Although they are not always appropriate in all contexts of transition, these
Commissions may contribute to establishing the truth on the scope of violations
of human rights and humanitarian law and thus constitute a platform for
victims.
Direct reparations of some wrongs suffered by victims through free access to
basic social services, rehabilitation and financial compensations are part of other
approaches to achieve justice.
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Your excellencies Heads of State and Government;
Ladies and gentlemen;
On the basis of the various mediations we led, we conquer that building a world
of peace, justice and shared wellbeing requires from all nations to fully invest in
favour of an education likely to promote a solid culture of tolerance, responsible
citizenship and observance of individual and collective rights.
It also calls on the international community to always make a judicious choice on
actions to be deployed in seeking peace and justice, to prevent both mutually
jeopardising each other.
It is important to work toward better ownership of the spirit and letter of
international
criminal
justice
the
poor
knowledge
of
which
may
explainsuspicions made against it.
Deployment of the International Criminal Court’s organs in some regions of the
world is often justified by poor and lack of operational capacities of national
legal systems.
This is why it seems important to me to accelerate reforms intended to reinforce
and engage these systems in a new dynamic.
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In view of actual difficulties to harmoniously reconcile legal objectives and
rooting of peace, it may seem appropriate in Africa to promote alternatives of a
justice which is based on traditional values of dialogue, tolerance, forgiveness
and which is respectful of repentance and expressed willingness of
reconciliation.
Your excellencies Heads of State and Government;
Honourable Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court;
Eminent personalities of the justice and human rights community;
Ladies and gentlemen;
Justice and peace may not be contemplated independently from one another. If
the gap of impunity is not filled, genuine reconciliation will not happen.
Similarly, the legal international justice should be an instrument to restore peace
and adapting to various requirements.
While welcoming the United Nations initiative aimed at reconciling the
imperatives of peace and justice, I express the wish that our deliberations lead
to results likely to promote the inclusion of a normative framework on the
conduct of justice in period of transition or after conflicts.
I thank you.