The people of Serbia could never have risen against him if Nato had let him become stronger through victory in Kosovo. The fall of Milosevic is a warning to dictators everywhere that the world is changing and that they cannot expect to escape justice. Today, the House of Commons has the chance to give a further warning to dictators by giving a second reading to the bill to ratify the statute establishing the international criminal court. As I argued in a speech last week, we reject the cynical view that a principled policy on human rights is in conflict with the national interest. The national interest is promoted, not hindered, by a commitment to human rights.
Democratic governments are more reliable partners for peace and more honest trading partners.
That is why our pursuit of human rights is both principled and practical. And by becoming one of the first states to ratify the ICC statute, we can again be in the international lead on human rights. The tragic paradox of the last century was that those who murdered one person were more likely to be brought to justice than those who plotted the genocide of millions. There has been nowhere to bring to justice the Idi Amins, the Foday Sankohs or Saddam Husseins. And nowhere for the survivors of their crimes against humanity to seek or obtain redress before the law.