On 3 December 2019, the General Debate continued in the ASP plenary with statements by States Parties to the ICC Rome Statute. A number of states, including Nigeria, The Gambia, Greece, Spain and Liechtenstein expressed concerns about the threats and challenges that the ICC has been facing. Throughout the session, repeated calls were made for all States Parties to step up their diplomatic support and take action to strengthen the Court and the Rome Statute system.

States Parties to the ICC Rome Statute also welcomed the efforts to review the performance of the Court. Particularly, several States Parties welcomed the initiative to implement an independent expert review composed by highly qualified experts. Nigeria, Sierra Leone, El Salvador, Bulgaria, Australia, Japan, Greece, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Costa Rica, Poland, Peru, Portugal, New Zealand, Spain, Romania, Malta, Brazil, Ghana, and Chile made reference to these efforts.

Some States welcomed efforts by the Court in assessing its own performance, including through an external expert review regarding the Kenya situation.

Kiribati’s accession to the Rome Statute was welcomed by numerous States, including Australia, Sierra Leone, El Salvador, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Spain, Brazil, Estonia, Canada, and Chile. Numerous States re-stated their commitment to promote the universality of the Rome Statute, and several expressed concern regarding the possibility of further withdrawals from the Rome Statute.

Several States Parties stated their support for the proposed amendments to article 8 of the Rome Statute, currently being considered by the ASP, to include the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare in non-international armed conflict, including Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Australia, El Salvador, Switzerland, Hungary, Italy, Liechtenstein, Portugal, New Zealand, Spain, Estonia, Canada.

Various States stressed the importance of nominating and electing the most highly qualified individuals to serve as ICC judges in next year’s judicial elections.

After the conclusion of the statements by States Parties, Observer States and international organizations and other entities spoke, including China, Iran, Cuba, the African Union, the Council of Europe, the ICRC, IDLO, the Sovereign Order of Malta, and the ICC Bar Association (ICCBA).

The General Debate of the 18th ASP session concluded with the interventions by Non-Governmental Organizations. The Coalition for the ICC Acting Convenor, Melinda Reed, reiterated civil society’s belief in the Court, the Rome Statute system and what it stands for, while also acknowledging the imperfection and evolving nature of current international justice efforts.

Nine Coalition members also addressed the ASP from all regions of the world, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Côte d’Ivoire, the Gambia, Libya, Sudan and Ukraine, touching on the challenges they face in their fight against impunity, their expectations towards the Court and States Parties, including on the need to implement pending arrest warrants and recommendations to ensure victims’ access to justice and redress.