On 10 October 2011, the government of the Republic of Cape Verde deposited its instrument of ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to the United Nations. The Statute will enter into force for Cape Verde on 1 January 2012, bringing the total number of States Parties to the Rome Statute to 119.
The ICC President, Judge Sang-Hyun Song, welcomed Cape Verde into the Rome Statute family, saying: “As the first Lusophone country in Africa to ratify the Rome Statute, Cape Verde has not only demonstrated its commitment to international criminal justice but also taken us one step further towards a truly universal system of the Rome Statute, representative of all peoples, cultures and legal systems of the world”.
The President of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute, Ambassador Christian Wenaweser, welcomed the ratification by Cape Verde, which reaffirms the central role the African region has been playing in support of the Court.
By ratifying the Rome Statute, Cape Verde has joined the international community’s efforts to put an end to impunity for the perpetrators of the most serious crimes that threaten the peace, security and well-being of the world.
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