ASP17 Report CICC.Pdf
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The COALITION FOR THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT includes 2,500 non- governmental organizations around the world working in partnership to strengthen international cooperation with the International Criminal Court; ensure that the Court is fair, effective and independent; make justice both visible and universal; and advance stronger national laws that deliver justice to victims of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. The Coalition Secretariat would like to thank the donors who have supported and continue to support the Coalition’s work: the European Union, Irish Aid, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) and the governments of Australia, Finland, Liechtenstein, Norway, The Netherlands, Switzerland, and a number of committed individuals and small foundations. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court and should in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union, Irish Aid, or any other donor. The Coalition for the ICC would like to thank the interns who provided an invaluable contribution to the drafting of the ASP17 Report: Fares Ather, Elise Blackburn, Sandrine Fontaine, Margaux Guint, Geraldine Maitreyi Gupta, Veronica Hassler Ben, Kelly Phan, Siti Putri, Celestine Schorlemer, Catarina Tavarela Mendes, Joelle van 't wout. The Coalition Secretariat takes all care to ensure accuracy. Corrections and additions are always welcome. For more information about the Coalition, please visit: www.coalitionfortheicc.org . Coalition for the International Criminal Court Summary Report - 17th ASP session – 2018 CICC Report on the 17th Session of the Assembly of States Parties Contents CONVENOR’S NOTE ..........................................................................................................................................................2 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................................3 2. OPENING SESSION ...................................................................................................................................................4 3. GENE RAL D EBATE ....................................................................................................................................................5 General Debate: Ministerial-level statements ............................................................................................................................. 6 General Debate: States Parties and observer states .................................................................................................................. 7 General Debate: Civil society interventions ................................................................................................................................. 8 4. ELECTIONS ............................................................................................................................................................. 11 5. COOPERATION ....................................................................................................................................................... 13 6. AMENDMENTS ........................................................................................................................................................ 17 7. ICC BUDGE T FO R 2019 ...................................................................................................................................... 17 8. VICTIMS IN THE ROME ST ATUTE SYSTEM .......................................................................................................... 19 9. THE ‘OMNIBUS RESOLUTION ’ ............................................................................................................................. 22 TH 10. 20 ANNIVERSARY OF THE RO ME STATUTE .................................................................................................... 23 11. S ELECTION OF THE N EXT ICC PROSECUTOR .................................................................................................... 25 12. T HE INDEPENDENT OVERSIGHT ME CHANISM (IOM) ..................................................................................... 25 13. SIDE EV ENTS TO ASP17 ..................................................................................................................................... 26 Annex: ASP17 Highlights and Key Developments .....................................................................................................................41 1 Coalition for the International Criminal Court Summary Report - 17th ASP session – 2018 CONVENOR’S NOTE In the short period of two weeks before the annual summit at the United Nations in September 2018, thirty- five State Party Foreign Ministers endorsed a statement that began: In July we marked the 20th anniversary of the Rome Statute – an occasion many of us used to reaffirm our commitment to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Just a few months later, it is clear that this is a crucial moment for all of us to speak up and stand up for the Court. We are witnessing an overall erosion of the rules-based international order, which we have worked so hard to establish in the past decades – in the areas of trade, disarmament, climate change and indeed the rule of law and human rights. The ICC is a central achievement of multilateral diplomacy and a true milestone in the development of international law. Due to its mandate of speaking law to power, it has been the target of political attacks for a number of years. It should thus come as no surprise that it is under increasing attack at a time of a broader assault on the rules-based order itself. We will always respect the independence of the ICC, an indispensable feature of any court of law. As the Coalition Secretariat completes this report on ASP17, it is clear that the conditions described by the Ministers have worsened. Coalition members are declaring that the Court’s judicial decisions are being affected by political considerations and threats from powerful governments. As we go to press, Coalition members have called for a major independent review of the ICC that has been endorsed by four former ASP Presidents and by the President, Prosecutor and Registrar of the Court. In this report of ASP17, held in December 2018, we include a summary of ‘highlights’ of the Assembly’ (page 41). It reveals an extraordinary quantity of work and meetings squeezed into a week of meetings. Implementing the ASP17 decisions, and the decisions and actions to be taken by the Court, the ASP and international community during the next two years will be as important as the fateful decision on July 17, 1998. This will include electing almost completely new leadership of the Court and Assembly in 2020 and early 2021. The Coalition provides these full reports to assist its members, but especially to assist governments, the ICC, international organizations, media, and academia to better understand the governance of the Court, its treaty and the historic effort to end impunity for the worst crimes in international law. William Pace Convenor (1995 – 2019) Coalition for the International Criminal Court 2 Coalition for the International Criminal Court Summary Report - 17th ASP session – 2018 1. INTRODUCTION This report is an informal summary of the 17th session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute (ASP), which took place from 5 – 12 December 2018 in The Hague, The Netherlands. This report was prepared by the Secretariat of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (Coalition) in order to summarize the activities of the 17th session of the ASP, discussions, decisions and developments within the framework of the ASP Bureau’s working groups, as well as key Coalition initiatives throughout 2018. Since 1995, the Coalition has led the civil society effort that successfully campaigned for the adoption of the Rome Statute in 1998, and the creation of a permanent international court to hold to account perpetrators of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression. The International Criminal Court (ICC) was established just four years later. On 17 July 2018, 20 years after the adoption of the Statute, the ICC’s exercise of jurisdiction over the fourth core international crime—the crime of aggression—entered into force. Since the Court’s establishment, the Coalition has facilitated unprecedented access and participation by global civil society in the ICC process, including its governance by the ASP. At the 2003 ASP session, the Coalition was recognized by States Parties, for its “coordinating and facilitating role” in an ASP resolution. During the 17th session, the States Parties reaffirmed the Coalition’s critical role, while also recalling, “in light of the 20th anniversary of the Rome Statute, the long-term and continuing cooperation between the Assembly, State Parties, and non-governmental organizations of civil society.”1 Importantly, the annual ASP session in 2018 proved a critical platform for the Coalition and its members to take stock of the Rome Statute system of international justice at the conclusion of its 20th anniversary year, looking ahead, along with States Parties, to the next era of the Court. The consultative arrangements for NGOs provided opportunities to reinforce defined goals within the Rome Statute system, such as full and effective implementation of the Statute