Excellencies, distinguished delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am proud to open this panel today, which is dedicated to “Preventing the illegal use of force through judicial accountability – the role of the ICC and States Parties after the adoption of the Kampala amendments on the crime of aggression”. For Liechtenstein, this brings together two of the top priorities in our multilateral work: First, the United Nations, the very purpose of which is to promote international peace and security. Its Charter contains the most important rule of international law: the prohibition of the illegal use of force. Second, the rule of law, the theme of the high-level meeting today, and in particular the role of the International Criminal Court in this respect. While aggression is prohibited under the UN Charter and thus has been illegal under international law for decades, we have so far not been able to use individual criminal justice to enforce the prohibition of the illegal use of force. In Nuremberg, some 65 years ago, twelve leading Nazi officers were convicted of “crimes against peace”. Since then, no other international criminal tribunal has had the competence to hold individuals accountable for the crime of aggression. We did not even have an internationally accepted definition of the crime of aggression. Instead, we had more wars, more aggression, and impunity.

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