“This decision demonstrates the might of international law.
Colonel Gaddafi and his followers reacted to the freedom movement in Libya with extraordinary severity and a degree of brutality which showed their contempt for human life. They bear responsibility for the deaths of hundreds of their country’s citizens, who had taken to the streets to express legitimate demands for rule of law, democracy and freedom.
It is therefore right and proper that the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court today sought a warrant for the arrest of Gaddafi and two other principal offenders. I particularly welcome the speed and resolution with which the International Criminal Court has responded to the request from the United Nations Security Council.
Examining these crimes before the law and seeing the perpetrators punished are not only important steps towards a political resolution to the conflict. They are also essential conditions for reconciliation and peace within Libya.”