In 1945, the peoples of the United Nations announced their determination to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war. To this end, they committed themselves to unite their strength to maintain international peace and security. The nations resolved to build an international society based on friendly relations between each other, rather than war. The United Nations was born. Half a century later, 120 states met at the Rome Conference. Recognizing that millions of children, women and men continue to be the victims of unimaginable and horrific crimes which threaten the peace and security of the world, they decided to establish the first permanent international criminal court. By so doing, they endorsed the fundamental principle which had been steadily emerging and consolidating over the preceding decades: the principle that justice is a fundamental component in any peace process.

The International Criminal Court is the very crystallization of our global culture of accountability. It enshrines the conviction, shared by the overwhelming majority of the members of the international community, that no sustainable peace can ever be built on foundations of impunity. The time has passed when we talk of peace versus justice and we now accept that justice is a necessary component of peace. The two are inseparable: they go together hand in hand. In this, the United Nations and the ICC share a common goal. At the same time, as a permanent institution, the ICC has the advantage of having a continuing deterrent effect on decision-makers at the highest level. Indeed, the system put in place by the Rome Statute is designed to reach those who bear the ultimate responsibility for the most serious crimes. As a court of last resort, the ICC provides a permanent and standing complement to national criminal accountability mechanisms. This complementarity principle is a cornerstone of the ICC regime. The fight against impunity rests upon the complementary efforts of domestic jurisdictions and the ICC. For this reason, the United Nations was a strong advocate for the establishment of an international criminal court since the early 1990s. It also played a key role in the Rome Conference and in ensuring its success. Since the Rome Statute entered into force and the Court came into being, the United Nations and the Court have built a firm relationship of cooperation which grows stronger year by year.