ICC chief urges world leaders to 'recommit' to human rights

The head of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in a statement has called for the world to unite and "recommit" to ensuring the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are on Human Rights Day.

"The Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed indisputable rights which everyone is inherently entitled to as a human being.  It continues to encourage us every day to work relentlessly towards a more just world, to protect human dignity and to promote equality worldwide," President of the International Criminal Court, Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji said in a statement on Monday.

"Today, as we unite for more justice and equality, we call on States worldwide to recommit to the core values enshrined in the Rome Statute and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as to enhance their cooperation with the institutions which defend them," he added.

The ICC has investigated the rights of civilians across the world.

On Wednesday, prosecutors said they intend to complete "as early as possible" a long-running preliminary investigation into allegations of Israeli crimes against Palestinians.

The prosecutor's office currently has nine preliminary probes underway. Others focus on Colombia, Guinea, Nigeria, the Philippines, Ukraine, Venezuela and Bangladesh, where prosecutors are looking at alleged crimes committed by Myanmar forces against Rohingya Muslims.

The universal declaration for human rights - 70-years-old on Monday - is described in the charter "as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society".