FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASECONTACT: Mr. Lucas SwanepoelOff. 212-370-7885 Ext. 26Cell. 612-669-1079lswanepoel@holyseemission.orgNew York, NY, Sep. 26 – The Holy See, acting also in the name and on behalf of the Vatican City State, acceded to the 1973 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons, including Diplomatic Agents.Wednesday 26 September 2012 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, His Excellency Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, Secretary for Relations with States of the Holy See, deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations the instrument of accession to the Convention.Through its accession to the Convention, the Holy See intends to contribute its moral support to global prevention and prosecution of crimes against Internationally Protected Persons, including Diplomatic Agents, and to the protection of victims of such crimes. To this end, the Holy See reaffirms the values of brotherhood, justice and peace between persons and peoples, the protection and strengthening of which require the primacy of the rule of law and respect for human rights. It further reiterates that instruments of criminal judicial cooperation constitute effective safeguards in the face of criminal activities that jeopardize human dignity and peace.The Convention of the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons, including Diplomatic Agents was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 14 December 1973. The Convention will enter into force for the Holy See and the Vatican City State thirty days after the deposit of the instrument of accession.For more information about the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations,please visit the www.holyseemission.org, which contains also links to the Holy See Press Office.###