On 12 June 2010 shortly after midnight, the first-ever Review Conference of the Rome Statute concluded in Kampala, Uganda. After a week of high-level discussions on the impact of the Rome Statute to date, ICC states parties came to an agreement regarding amendments to the Rome Statute pertaining to the crime of aggression.

States parties adopted a definition for the crime of aggression by consensus. The definition criminalizes the use of armed force by one State against another and carried out in contravention to the United Nations Charter. On this basis individuals responsible for unlawful acts of war may be subject to prosecution before the ICC. States also agreed upon a jurisdictional regime for the crime of aggression, which provides separate procedures depending on whether the situation was referred by the UN Security Council, or whether it came before the Court through a State referral or upon the ICC Prosecutor’s initiative. The Review Conference determined that the Court will not be able to exercise jurisdiction until 30 states have ratified the new amendment. In addition, states parties will have to make a positive decision to activate the jurisdiction after 1 January 2017.

‘The Coalition for the ICC is advocating for an end to impunity for all serious crimes, including the crime of aggression,” said CICC Convenor William R. Pace. “Although today’s agreement on the definition of the crime is a step forward for international justice, and more importantly for victims of this crime, the conditions agreed by states for the prosecution of the crime would leave many states out of the reach of justice,” he emphasized. “There also remains a question mark over when the Court will be able to exercise its jurisdiction over this crime of concern to the international community as a whole,” he added. “The Coalition is committed to work with like-minded-governments and other bodies to maintain the pressure on the UN Security Council of its very heavy responsibilities with regard to the crime of aggression.”

Important decisions were made on two other proposed amendments to the Rome Statute. First states agreed not to delete article 124 but to review it in five years. Article 124 is an optional protocol which allows states not to subject their nationals to the Court’s prosecutions or investigations over war crimes for a seven year period. Second, states accepted to extend the use of certain weapons as war crimes in non-international conflicts.

The Review Conference also helped identify areas in which the Court’s positive impact can be further strengthened. Debates focused on the impact of the Rome Statute on victims and affected communities, complementarity, cooperation, and peace and justice, issues truly central to the system’s fair, effective, and independent functioning. More than 600 Coalition members played a central role in enhancing the dialogue on the Rome system and ensured that the voices of civil society were truly heard through a number of events.

The Coalition and its global membership are committed to work to maintain the momentum with states, the UN, other regional bodies and the ICC to ensure commitments made in Kampala result in concrete actions.

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There is no doubt that the success of the ICC is closely linked to the level of cooperation it secures from States Parties and intergovernmental organizations. We have seen that arrest warrants cannot be enforced and requests of provisional release - as in the case of Jean-Pierre Bemba - cannot be accepted because of the lack of cooperation from the States that could be host states for the defendant. States can also cooperate by implementing the Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the Court in their national legislation, by signing agreements for the relocation of victims and witnesses or by enforcing sentences.

The Review Conference of the ICC Rome Statute in Kampala was a unique opportunity for states to reaffirm their commitments and obligations towards the Court under the Statute. In Kampala, the stocktaking exercise on cooperation showed that beyond capacity or resources, a number of states simply lack political will to cooperate with the Court, especially when it comes to enforcing the arrest warrants issued by the Court.

In the speech he made at the opening of the Review Conference, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan referred to the opposition of some African leaders to the arrest warrant issued against Al Bashir and said, “It is not ‘Africa’ that is hostile to the Court. (…) In all these cases, it is impunity, not the African countries, that is being targeted.” If impunity is actually the problem that has to be eradicated, why are not all arrest warrants against all suspects wanted by the Court enforced and why cannot justice be achieved?

Uganda, which is a State Party to the Court and was the host country of the Review Conference, has been unable to arrest the leaders of the LRA so much that this rebel group continues to commit atrocities in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in Central African Republic and in South Sudan. Nevertheless, it will host the next African Union summit in July. What would prevent Uganda from arresting Sudanese President Al Bashir if he was to show up on the Ugandan territory? It is interesting to note that Uganda, after declaring that Al Bashir was not invited to the summit, immediately retracted its statement when the Sudanese government protested.

The DRC, which is a State Party to the Court and set an example in terms of cooperation regarding enforcement in dealing with the arrest warrants issued against Lubanga, Katanga and Ngudjolo Chui, decided not to cooperate to arrest Bosco Ntaganda, claiming “peace” was more important. The Congolese minister of Justice recognized that there is no peace without justice but that “the need for peace sometimes prevails over justice”.

States tend to cooperate only when they want to or when it does not hinder their interests or goals. Cooperation should not be partial or depend on the moods of decision-makers. Cooperation should be firm and consistent in order for the Court to be able to fully complete its mandate to end impunity. It is the commitment states should have made back in Kampala.

Eugène Bakama Bope is the President of the Congolese NGO Club des Amis du droit du Congo(CAD).

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NGOs Say Meeting is an Opportunity to Reconfirm Commitment to Justice for the Gravest Crimes

More than 500 NGO representatives will attend the first ever Review Conference of the Rome Statute of International Criminal Court (ICC), to be held in Kampala (Uganda) from 31 May to 11 June 2010. Kampala is an opportunity for world leaders and the global community to openly recommit to the Rome Statute’s historic initiative to end impunity for the gravest crimes.

In less than 10 days, ICC states parties and observer states, international organizations, NGOs, and other participants will discuss proposed amendments to the Rome Statute - the ICC’s founding treaty - and take stock of its impact to date, making the Review Conference a critical milestone in the evolution of the new system of international justice created twelve years ago.

“Kampala is not only a conference for amendments to the treaty,” said CICC Convenor William Pace. “This historic gathering will also help identify areas in which the Court’s positive impact can be further strengthened.” Debates will focus on the impact of the Rome Statute on victims and affected communities, complementarity, cooperation, and peace and justice, issues truly central to the system’s fair, effective, and independent functioning.

For the Conference to have a greater impact, it requires attendance of the highest levels and participants to recommit to ensure justice for victims of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, including by making a tangible pledge. The Coalition urged states to use Kampala as an opportunity to publicly commit ratifying the Rome Statute or the Agreement on Privileges and Immunities within the shortest timeframe. States were also called to pledge to pass necessary ICC implementing legislation following the Conference.

One of the key issues at stake will also be the crime of aggression. Although aggression is listed in the Rome treaty as one of the four grave crimes over which the ICC has jurisdiction, agreement must still be reached on its definition, conditions for the ICC to exercise its jurisdiction, and ways to modify the treaty. “The CICC will monitor the discussions on the crime of aggression very closely to ensure that any amendment would protect the integrity of the Rome Statute,” said CICC Convenor William Pace.

Other amendments to be considered by states parties are: (1) the revision of article 124 of the Rome Statute, an optional protocol which allowed states to exclude the court’s jurisdiction over war crimes by its nationals or on its territory for a seven-year period, and (2) the possible inclusion of the use of certain weapons as war crimes in the context of an armed conflict of non-international character or “Belgian proposal”.

Parallel to official panels, the Coalition and its global membership will help create further dialogue on the Rome system and ensure that the voices of civil society are truly heard through a number of debates, roundtables, and parliamentary seminars prior to and during the Conference, both in capitals and alongside the Review Conference.

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100 days for France to stop providing a safe haven for criminals against humanity

With less than 100 days to go before the conference in Kampala, Uganda which will review the first years of operation of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Amnesty International France is launching a national campaign to urge France to adapt its legislation to the ICC Statute without delay. This measure is already 10 years overdue. In June 2000, the French government was due to put a bill through Parliament for the adaptation of France’s domestic legislation to the Rome Statute - an essential measure for the Statute’s full implementation. Belatedly tabled in July 2006, and voted by the Senate in June 2008 in terms that effectively voided it of its content, the bill has yet to be included on the National Assembly agenda. “The majority of European countries have already harmonised their legislation. The French authorities must fulfil their commitments and debate the bill in the National Assembly before the Kampala conference” says Geneviève Garrigos, President of Amnesty International France. When the UN created the two international courts for former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, France passed laws that made it possible to prosecute perpetrators of odious crimes committed in these countries if they were found to be present in France. But since the founding of the ICC, France has still not passed the law that would allow a similar mechanism to be set up for criminals coming from other parts of the world. Amnesty International France will therefore be lobbying members of parliament over the next 100 days to ensure that the bill is finally included on the agenda.

Aymeric Elluin is Campain Coordinator at Amnesty International France.

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