Former foreign affairs minister Dr. Amery Browne has called on the government to explain Trinidad and Tobago’s abstention on a United Nations General Assembly resolution concerning the International Criminal Court’s latest annual report.
According to the Caribbean Media Corporation, Browne made the call in a Facebook statement on Tuesday, November 3. He criticised Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and CARICOM and Foreign Affairs Minister Sean Sobers, describing the abstention as a departure from the country’s longstanding support for the court.
The resolution, A/81/L.11, was adopted on Monday with 93 countries voting in favour, 13 against and 36 abstaining, according to the voting record cited by CMC. The United States, Russia, Israel and Argentina were among the countries that voted against it.
CMC reported that the Trinidad and Tobago government had not publicly explained its vote at the time of its report. Browne’s statement therefore presents his criticism of the decision; the report contains no government response explaining the reasons for abstaining.
Browne said Trinidad and Tobago had previously co-sponsored resolutions of this kind. He argued that the abstention undermined the country’s record of support for the ICC and the legacy of former prime minister ANR Robinson, whom he described as a central inspiration behind the court’s creation.
UN historical accounts cited in the report credit Robinson’s intervention at the General Assembly in 1989 with reviving the proposal for an international criminal court. That initiative helped begin negotiations that culminated in the adoption of the Rome Statute in 1998.
According to the General Assembly president’s statement cited by CMC, the annual report under consideration covers August 1, 2025, to July 31, 2026. It details the court’s judicial, prosecutorial, administrative and institutional activities, along with its cooperation with the UN, governments and other partners. Its consideration gives member states an opportunity to examine the court’s work and cooperation needs.