UN General Assembly
2001

bring this project, on which we all place so much hope, to a successful conclusion. I therefore call upon all States that have not yet approved the present compromise to reconsider their position. The International Criminal Court can also become a valuable instrument in the fight against terrorism. Under article 7, paragraph 1, of its statute, it will have jurisdiction to try cases of murder “when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population”. There can be no doubt that the attacks on New York, Washington and Pennsylvania fulfil this requirement. For this reason, I would like to ask you all once again to ratify the Rome Statute as quickly as possible. The attack on the World Trade Center was a wake-up call to the profound threat to world peace that can be posed by failing States. Areas where political and social order has collapsed offer terrorists a safe haven from which they can organize their murderous networks worldwide. The community of States urgently needs to take a closer and preventive look at the