UN refuses to comment on Palestine's membership of ICC

Deputy Spokesman for the United Nations Secretary General, Farhan Haq on Tuesday refused to comment on the Palestine ICC membership going into effect on April, 1 2015.

During a press conference at UN headquarters in New York, Haq said the Secretary-General will not issue any statements regarding Palestine’s effective membership.

“This is the 123rd State party. You’re not aware that we’ve had statements for the previous 122 State parties either, right? So this is in keeping with that!” Haq asserted when asked why the Secretary General will not issue a statement regarding the issue.

The Palestinian Authority submitted a request to join the International Criminal Court on 2 January, as a prelude to prosecute Israeli officials for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The Palestinians decision to join the ICC came less than three days after the UN Security Council refused to pass a draft resolution ending the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories by November, 2017.