UN General Assembly
2008

the situation in a country is deteriorating before our eyes, resulting in the population suffering and an increase in serious human rights violations. The examples are well known and strike us all. Myanmar, Darfur, Zimbabwe and the eastern Congo all confront us with a responsibility to protect, a responsibility that the international community is called upon to exercise when a sovereign State cannot or, worse, refuses to assume that responsibility. That can be undertaken through humanitarian instruments, the civil administration of crises, peacekeeping or peace- restoration missions, or, earlier on, crisis prevention. In that context, I wish to speak of combating impunity. Belgium is convinced that there cannot be lasting peace without justice. That principle guides our foreign policy. It is achieved in the first place by bolstering the rule of law and justice at the national level before, during and after a conflict. For the gravest crimes, we actively support the development of international criminal law. This is not the time to let any doubts persist with regard to our active support for