H.E. Mr António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations and the President of the International Criminal Court, Judge Silvia Fernández de Gurmendi.
On 21 December 2017, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, H.E. Mr António Guterres visited the International Criminal Court (“ICC” or “Court’), where he was received by the President of the Court, Judge Silvia Fernández de Gurmendi, and met with ICC Deputy Prosecutor James Stewart on behalf of Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda. This was Mr Guterres’ first visit to the seat of the ICC in The Hague, The Netherlands.
President Fernández expressed the Court’s gratitude, stating: “while the Court is not part of the United Nations, it shares its core goals and values, and is tremendously appreciative of the many forms of vital cooperation received from the organisation. Your personal support for the ICC system, Mr Secretary-General, is of vital importance to our efforts aimed at bringing accountability and providing justice for the victims of the gravest crimes in accordance with the Rome Statute, and to confront related challenges”.
“Our abiding challenge is to realize the full potential of the International Criminal Court to end impunity and build a just and more peaceful world,” said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.
The visit of the Secretary-General to the ICC is part of long-standing relations between the Court and the United Nations which, while being separate organisations, cooperate in a wide range of areas in accordance with the Relationship Agreement signed in 2004. It also highlights the joint efforts for accountability for the most serious crimes that affect the international community as a whole.
