On April 1, 2015, Palestine became a state party to the Rome Statute. According to the press release, the International Criminal Court’s vice president, Kuniko Ozaki, welcomed Palestine stating that “[a]ccession to a treaty is, of course, just the first step. As the Rome Statute today enters into force for the State of Palestine, Palestine acquires all the rights as well as responsibilities that come with being a State Party to the Statute. These are substantive commitments, which cannot be taken lightly.” Palestine submitted its application to join the Court in January 2015.