France welcomes the adoption on 26 May 2023 of the Convention on International Cooperation in the Investigation and Prosecution of the Crime of Genocide, Crimes against Humanity, War Crimes and other International Crimes.
The Convention is an essential tool for the fight against impunity and shows the determination of States to strengthen the overall system of international criminal justice.
The Convention allows for the standardisation of mutual legal assistance and extradition procedures and will also serve as the common denominator in efforts to define the most serious international crimes, criminalise them in domestic legislation, and exercise jurisdiction in national courts. Moreover, the Convention will strengthen cooperation among national and international courts, as well as their complementarity, especially with the International Criminal Court.
France would like to thank the States in the core group that has been leading this initiative since 2011, including Slovenia, which hosted the MLA Diplomatic Conference. France applauds the commitment of all of the States and civil society organisations that took part in the negotiations in Ljubljana from 15 to 26 May 2023.
France is happy to do its utmost in order to sign and become a State Party to the Convention.