Remarks by
Christina Bruff, Acting Deputy Chief of Mission
June 3, 2021

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The United States has listened carefully to the panelists and the delegations today and wishes, in particular, to thank the Prosecutor for her remarks.

I want to begin by underscoring the United States’ firm and deep commitment to justice and accountability, particularly for the worst crimes known to humanity. This is in keeping with our historic tradition of support for international criminal justice that has been a hallmark of United States policy for over seventy years.

The United States is also proud to support transitional justice processes across Latin America, which has led the world in developing many of the tools, approaches, and jurisprudence to address legacies of authoritarianism and atrocities, including through truth-telling and domestic criminal trials of perpetrators of atrocity crimes. Where domestic systems are unable or unwilling to genuinely pursue the justice that victims deserve and that societies require to sustain peace, international courts such as the ICC can have a meaningful role in advancing accountability.

To further those goals of justice and accountability, the Biden Administration believes this is a historic moment in which the United States and the ICC could return to a period of cooperation and work together to achieve our common objectives. We also look forward to working with OAS member states and other partners, as our goals and concerns will be best addressed through engagement with all stakeholders in the ICC process.

To that end, we appreciate this exchange of views on the ICC, and look forward to engaging with other OAS member states to further our shared objectives of justice, accountability, and the rule of law.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.