Tunisia recognizes ICC

Tunisia has become the first North African country to recognize the International Criminal Court, the first of several international conventions it plans to sign after its uprising this year. Tunisia's ambassador Ghazi Jomaa deposed the official document at UN headquarters, making his country the 116th signatory to the Rome Statute which set up the international court. Tunisia is the fourth member of the Arab League to recognize the court after Djibouti, the Comoros and Jordan. The country's decision is a "testament of the profound changes brought about by the Arab Spring, which started in Tunisia," said Christian Wenaweser, head of the international Assembly of States Parties of the International Criminal Court, and Liechtenstein's ambassador to the United Nations. Next week Tunisia will also sign international treaties and protocols against torture, on civil and political rights and against the enforced disappearance of people.