Hosted by the Office of Ms. Marietje Schaake, MEP Chairperson of the Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) Group in the European Parliament Roundtable at the European Parliament on the International Criminal Court and the European Union European Parliament, Alterio Spinelli Building – Brussels, Belgium Wednesday, 1st of June, 2011, 12.00 - 14.00 REPORT OF THE DISCUSSIONS Background and Objective Background Committed to preventing crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide, as well as to put an end to impunity for the perpetrators of such crimes, the EU provides unwavering support to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and other international criminal tribunals. At an international level, the EU frequently includes a binding clause in agreements with third countries, requiring them to cooperate with the ICC and, when the other Party agrees, to ratify the Rome Statute of the ICC. All EU countries are States Parties to the Rome Statute, and the EU has been a consistent political, technical and financial supporter of the ICC’s work. EU member countries are the biggest financial contributors to the ICC budget – along with Japan – and the EU itself funds projects supporting the ICC and international criminal justice through its European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR)). The EU support for the ICC is underpinned by an EU Common Position on the ICC, which established an agreed policy on supporting the Court in June 2003. The Common position is accompanied by the EU action plan on the ICC and was recently renewed in March 2011 by an EU Decision. The related renewal of the EU action plan on the ICC is ongoing and scheduled to be concluded under the Hungarian Presidency of the Council in June/July 2011. Objective The overarching objective of today is to involve concerned MEPs in making a meaningful contribution to the elaboration of the new EU Action Plan on the ICC designed to give effect to the EU Decision on the ICC of 2011. The Action Plan should be approved by end of June 2011 by EU Member States by the Hungarian Chair of the EU-Council COJUR). This is in accordance with the current EU action plan in which it is mentioned that: 'The European Parliament will be kept regularly informed by the Presidency and the Commission of significant developments concerning the ICC and its views on the ICC should be duly taken into account.' Following the meeting we will convene the key priorities of the EP for the new action plan on the ICC to the High Representative, Catherine Ashton. Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) Further to this, today's meeting is meant to familiarize you with the work of the Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA). PGA is a non-profit, non-partisan international network of over 1300 legislators in more than 100 elected parliaments around the globe, aims to promote peace, democracy, the rule of law, human rights, sustainable development and population issues by informing, convening, and mobilizing parliamentarians to realize these goals. For more information see: http://www.pgaction.org/ As the chair of PGA in the European Parliament, Marietje Schaake would like to invite all Members of European Parliament to join the PGA, which has been extremely instrumental in working with parliamentarians across the globe to include as many countries in ratifying the Rome Statute. Programme and Minutes of the Proceeedings 12:00 Welcome remarks on behalf of the PGA Group in the European Parliament Ms. Marietje Schaake, MEP-ALDE (Netherlands), Chair, PGA Group in the European Parliament Ms. Schaake introduced herself and PGA and gave a short background of the framework of the discussion. All EU member states are state parties to the Rome Stature and support the work of the ICC. There is the group of “Friends of the ICC” in the EP, which is chaired by Barbara Lochbihler, MEP. This group visited the ICC 3 months ago, on the 28 March 2011. The support of the ICC by the EU is underpinned by the new decision on the ICC, adopted on 21 March 2011, replacing the former EU common position of ICC. Today we should look at how to involve MEPs in the elaboration of a new EU action plan of the ICC, which is expected to be approved at end of June by EU Member States. 12:10 The EP contribution to the fight against impunity world-wide through EU policies Including policies towards Non-States Parties and their role in promoting the fight against impunity via the UN Security Council and other instruments Ms. Barbara Lochbihler, MEP-Greens (Germany), Chair, “Friends of the ICC” in the EP; Member PGA (full speech enclosed) The fight against impunity and for international justice has made positive progress in the last decade, not least with the commencement of the first cases at the International Criminal Court. Nevertheless, international justice continues to encounter obstacles in its development. All States have the right under international law to prosecute and try people responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, and other crimes under international law, such as torture, extrajudicial execution and enforced disappearances, regardless of the nationality of the victim or the alleged perpetrators or the territory where the crimes were committed. In cases where the alleged offender is present in any territory under its jurisdiction, the State has the imperative international obligation to extradite or to bring the accused to its own national courts. The EU is determined to work towards the prevention of crimes of international concern and the ending of impunity for perpetrators of such crimes. It has consistently given strong support – political, financial and technical – to the effective functioning of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and other international criminal tribunals. This has been done through the EU Common Position and an EU Action Plan on ICC. Despite this, it is still the case that many measures and action plans developed by the departments and working groups of the European Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament are not implemented successfully. It seems that not all EU delegations are fully aware of our Human Rights Guidelines, e.g. the EU Guideline on Human Rights Defenders. We also have to be self-critical on the role of European countries in the cases of torture and rendition during the so called War on Terror. The European Union has until now failed to shed a light into its involvement in the illegal CIA-flights. The legal community and all the human rights movement must continue their efforts to attain universal justice and an end to impunity. The effective implementation of the Manual on Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment is a vital instrument for gathering evidence and preventing impunity. Let me give you some concrete examples what the fight against impunity is about: 1. Argentina - In December 2002 a former ex-dictator faced live imprisonment. The worst thing was the impunity that those criminals enjoyed after committing their crimes. Large efforts have brought important changes in human rights in Argentina: consciousness led to arrests. - The Human Rights committee heard testimonies of civil society in order to exchange views. This was a very good learning experience. 2. Chile - The Pinochet case has been a milestone in the fight against impunity: This achievement would have not been possible without the engagement and professionalism of investigative magistrate Baltazar Garzón - Digression on the case of Spanish magistrate Baltasar Garzón, who has been charged with abuse of process for knowingly exceeding his jurisdiction by investigating crimes committed during the Franco regime. Opponents claim Spain’s 1977 amnesty law protects these crimes: Mr. Garzon is, in her view, politically targeted because he is an international symbol in the fight against impunity. Judges who investigate in good faith and are backed by international law cannot work if they fear being politically targeted with legal actions. 3. Serbia - The arrest of Mladic is great news for the future of Serbia and the Serbian people, as it is a further step to ending impunity and reconciliation in the region. On 31 May 2011 he was transferred to Den Haag. He faces charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. This is a milestone for Serbia and for international justice. Out of 161 indicted persons, 160 have been arrested. The remaining one, Goran Hadzic has to be arrested as well. 4. Egypt - During many years Egypt was one of the worst examples of torture in prison. To uproot this culture of human rights abuses and impunity, the decades of human rights violations under the rule of President Hosni Mubarak must be addressed, and measures taken to ensure truth, justice and reparation for victims of human rights violations, including for former detainees. - Holding secret service officers to account is an essential initial step towards realizing the calls to end impunity that was one of the main triggers of the recent uprising in Egypt. - In order to truly break with the legacy of human rights violations and impunity for the violations, the Egyptian authorities must also introduce comprehensive institutional and legal reforms to guarantee that such abuses will not be repeated. Only then will Egyptians start to trust public institutions and to heal after decades of abuse. - Truth, justice and reparations are three important elements of the fight against impunity. And these elements may help to heal the wound of past human right violations. The European Union can and must play a crucial role in supporting Egypt to overcome its legacy of impunity. 5. Colombia - In March there was the assassination of a judge who has tried cases of rape and murder.