Mr President,Sweden fully aligns itself with the statement given by Italy on behalf of the European Union earlier today. I would like to take this opportunity to highlight a few issues that Sweden considers to be of particular importance.Let me first of all thank the United Kingdom for bringing the matters of justice and the rule of law to the fore. The principle of the rule of law is at the very heart of the United Nations whose Charter preamble specifically mentions justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law. All members of the United Nations have an obligation to respect and ensure respect for the rule of law in international relations.While the need to address rule of law issues post conflict is commonly accepted, it is a special challenge to identify and address causes of conflict at an early stage. Deficiencies in the rule of law inhibit efforts to prevent armed conflict. Among common root causes to conflicts are the lack of independent judiciaries, illegal activities by and lack of civilian control of armed and security forces, corruption, organised crime and impunity. Increased attention must be given in time to these threats to peace.Full use should be made of information and analyses on such issues from the United Nations human rights mechanisms and bodies. This information should be brought to the attention of the Security Council and lead to concerted action to remedy such threats to human rights and peace. Such action must be co-ordinated between UN agencies and with member states and other relevant actors.The late High Commissioner for Human Rights, Sergio Vieira de Mello, understood these links well. When Mr de Mello pledged, in the Third Committee of the General Assembly last fall, to make the principle of the rule of law the centrepiece of his approach as High Commissioner he said: "A comprehensive strategy to establish global security must be grounded in promoting respect for human rights through upholding the primacy of the rule of law, fostering social justice, and enhancing democracy". Mr de Mello went on to underline that efforts to counter terrorism must enhance, rather than undercut, the rule of law. He also urged us to resolve to commit in a more serious way to prevention, rather than picking up the pieces afterwards.In the context of conflict prevention, we welcome the increased use by states of the International Court of Justice, which is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations and a central institution in solving inter-state conflicts at an early stage.Mr President,As already mentioned by Italy on behalf of the European Union, international courts and tribunals have an important role to play in ensuring the rule of law at the international level. With the newly established permanent International Criminal Court the international community is endowed with an optimal tool for combating impunity even when states fail to act domestically. The Security Council can have an important part to play in triggering the jurisdiction of the Court by referring situations to it under article 13 of the Rome Statute. Sweden believes that, as evidence of the universal norms underpinning the very essence of the rule of law, there should be no obstacle for the Rome Statute to eventually achieve universal application.I would also like to stress the important work carried out in the justice and rule of law area by a wide variety of non-state actors such as non-governmental organisations. They should receive our full support, both in terms of finance and know-how.Mr President,The rule of law must be distinguished from the rule by law. Institution building and the legal infrastructure are important, but not enough by themselves. The legal system must be just and must be perceived as just by the population. The legal system must build upon international human rights norms and standards. Law enforcement agencies, judges and lawyers must be trained to understand and apply human rights. Corruption and impunity must be fought. This applies not only in post conflict situations. By upholding just legal systems that enjoy the trust of the population we can also eliminate many causes of conflict in our societies. Justice, rule of law and human rights go hand in hand in peaceful societies.Thank you very much.