Moldova has taken a welcome step towards tackling gross human rights violations by ratifying the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, said Amnesty International. “It is good to see that Moldova has committed to international justice and working to end impunity for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes,” said Christopher Keith Hall, Senior Legal Adviser in the International Justice Project. Wednesday's ratification follows more than 10 years of campaigning by Amnesty International Moldova and other civil society groups. Moldova is now the 114th state to ratify the Rome Statute. “Slowly but surely more countries are ratifying the Rome Statute and the impunity gaps that have denied justice to untold numbers of victims of these horrific crimes are being closed,” said Christopher Keith Hall. However, Amnesty International expressed concern about the number of countries that have ratified the Rome Statute, but have not yet fulfilled their commitments to the Court. Many countries that have ratified have yet to implement the Rome Statute effectively into national law or to enter into supplementary agreements with the Court on privileges and immunities, victim relocation and enforcement of sentences. “Ratification is a major step, but only a first step,” said Christopher Keith Hall. “In particular, national law reform is vital to ensure that Moldova can cooperate fully with the Court and that its national courts can fulfill their obligations to investigate and prosecute cases of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.” Amnesty
