Gift urges leaders to continue Robinson’s legacy

FOREIGN AFFAIRS Minister, Senator Knowlson Gift, yesterday urged world leaders to build upon the foundations laid by President Arthur NR Robinson in establishing the International Criminal Court (ICC). Speaking at the launch of a series of commemorative stamps at the Crowne Plaza Hotel to honour Robinson and the ICC’s establishment, the Minister also criticised the United States, Russia and China for not ratifying the July 1998 Rome Statute which gave birth to the Court.

Gift told the gathering that “to date, 89 countries out of a signatory membership of 139 countries have ratified the statute”. “Perhaps it is not unexpected that with such a monumental achievement, there would be some dissonance. The non-ratification of the statute by three of the world’s largest and powerful states- US, Russia and China- serves to show that the work is not yet over. Efforts must now continue to bring all on board. The seed of global justice has only now been sown,” he said. Reflecting upon the President’s role in the creation of the ICC, Gift stated that Robinson’s drive to establish the Court represented the most “serious step to global justice since World War Two”.

The Minister also hailed the appointment of Trinidad and Tobago Law Association president Karl Hudson-Phillips as an ICC judge. Public Utilities and Environment Minister, Senator Rennie Dumas, said the launch of the stamps  celebrated both the ICC and the “man who has played a significant role in the ICC’s establishment. Both Ministers agreed that the President and Hudson-Phillips’ achievements show that “Trinidad and Tobago stands ready to rise to even greater heights. Among the assembled dignitaries present were First Lady Patricia Robinson, Senate President Dr Linda Baboolal, Port-of-Spain Mayor Murchison Brown and US Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago, Dr Roy Austin.