Nepali parliament directs gov't to sign Rome Statute

The Nepali House of Representatives (HoR), or the parliament, on Tuesday passed a commitment proposal directing the Nepali Government to sign the International Criminal Court (ICC) Statute, state run Radio Nepal reported Wednesday.

"The HoR unanimously passed ICC, also known as the Rome Statute, and pave the way for meting out punishment to criminals, who have committed crimes against humanity, but have eluded punishment from domestic courts and law enforcement agencies," the radio reported.

Once the statute is ratified, the ICC can punish those officials who have committed crimes against humanity by misusing state power, but against whom domestic courts or law enforcement agencies have not been able to take action, the House observed.

Speaker of the HoR Subhas Nembang, who floated the proposal for decision, declared the proposal passed unanimously as there was no opposition to the proposal.

Stating that there was an urgent need on the part of the government to sign the statute at the earliest, Communist Party of Nepal United Marxist and Leninist Whip Parshuram Meghi Gurung had tabled the proposal.

"Nepali people want every criminal, who commits serious crimes, punished," Gurung said.

"Once the government signs the statute, those committing serious crimes will not be able to escape legal action," Gurung added.

The ICC was established on July 17, 1998 with the support of 120 member countries. The ICC began functioning from July 1, 2002 following the endorsement by 100 countries.

Source: Xinhua