20th SESSION OF THE ASSEMBLY OF STATES PARTIES
7 December 2021
Name of the Event: The Role of Parliamentarians in Promoting the Universality of the Rome Statute: The State of Play in Today’s ICC (co-hosted by the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea and the Parliamentarians for Global Action)
Report by: Lilian Srour, Junior Research Associate, PILPG-NL
Highlights:
ICC President Judge Piotr Hofmański underlined that promoting universal ratification of the Rome Statute is one of his top priorities during his terms as president of the ICC.
The speakers shared their experiences from the ratification of the Rome Statute in Malaysia, Jamaica, Ukraine, and in neighbouring jurisdictions, discussing the wider implications.
Speakers discussed the need to address fake information and propaganda about the ICC, to mitigate the negative influence this can have on the promotion of the universality of the Rome Statute system and the ICC.
Speakers called upon states to stand up for justice and provide the ICC with the necessary funding to ensure it can fulfil its mandate.
Speakers:
Dr. David Donat Cattin, Secretary General of Parliamentarians for Global Action
H.E. Henk Cor van der Kwast, Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the International Criminal Court
H.E. Yeondoo Jeong, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the Netherlands.
H.E. Piotr Hofmański, ICC President
Mr. Fabio Massimo Castaldo, MEP (Italy), Vice-President of the European Parliament
Hon. Kasthuri Patto, MP, PGA Board Member
Ms. Marina Bardyna, MP, Deputy-Chair, Committee on Foreign Policy and Inter-Parliamentary CooperationPresident of the International Criminal Court
Dr. Angela Brown Burke, MP, Chairwoman of People’s National Party
Ms. Oleksandra Matviychuk, Chairwoman of the Center for Civil Liberties (Ukraine)
Summary of the Event:
Dr. David Donat Cattin opened the event and gave the floor to the hosts of the event for their opening remarks: H.E. Henk Cor van der Kwast, Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the International Criminal Court, and H.E. Yeondoo Jeong, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the Netherlands.
H.E. Henk Cor van der Kwast commended Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) for their unrelenting efforts to promote multilateralism, human rights, and the rule of law. He emphasised that the universal ratification of the Rome Statute is key. In this regard, he expressed the need to encourage non-states parties to join the mission and standards of the ICC. He noted that only together in a coalition of states, parliaments, civil society, and all other stakeholders this can be achieved. H.E. Yeondoo Jeong, spoke afterwards, referring to the joint efforts of the governments of Korea and the Netherlands in promoting universality. He explained that Korea is actively involved in promoting the wider ratification of the Rome Statute by states, to fight impunity and deter the gravest crimes under international law. He emphasised, once more, that universality of the Rome Statute system can only be achieved once more states decide to ratify or accede to the treaty. He concluded by encouraging any country that may have doubts about joining the ICC, to ask the Netherlands or Korea for support, because they are ready to provide it.
Next, keynote speaker Judge Piotr Hofmański, after thanking the PGA and the governments of Netherlands and Korea for convening this discussion, noted that promoting universal ratification of the Rome Statute is one of his top priorities as president of the ICC. In explaining why universality matters so much, he referred to the ICC’s mandate to fight impunity for the gravest crimes under international law, emphasizing that “this is a mandate that matters to all of humanity.” As the ratification of the Rome Statute strengthens the “rule of law domestically, as well as, internationally,” Hofmanski explained that “joining the ICC means reducing space for impunity at home and everywhere else in the world.” Therefore, the ratification of the Rome Statute ought to be in the national interest of every state, whilst simultaneously being an act that benefits humanity as a whole. To conclude, he underlined that attention should be paid to “the need for all states parties to implement the Rome Statute in their national laws, if they have not already done so.”
Hon. Kasthuri Patto, MP and PGA Board Member, shared experiences of Malaysia’s accession to the Rome Statute. She noted that Malaysia was the first, and hopefully last country, that deposited the accession instrument and subsequently withdrew it. For two decades, there was a vacuum of discussion on the ratification of the Rome Statute in Malaysia. In such circumstances, the spread of false information on social media represented a challenge faced by lawmakers and political parties. The spread of false information includes statements, such as, that the King will be ‘hauled to court’. To mitigate misinformation, she suggested that, in 2022, efforts can be made to steer the conversation towards discussing the benefits and importance of acceding to the Rome Statute. Ultimately, she emphasized, the Rome Statute does not conflict with Malaysia’s constitution.
The next speaker, Dr. Angela Brown Burke, MP, Chairwoman of People’s National Party, emphasized that the international community and states must cooperate to ensure that the most serious crimes are not ignored. She listed two main requirements for Jamaica to ratify the Rome Statute: political will and consolidation of national leader frameworks. Since 2002, the PGA has been working with parliamentarians from Jamaica towards the ratification of the Rome Statute and to counter the negative influence of neighboring countries, such as the USA, in this process. With ratification of a treaty taking place through executive decisions of the Cabinet in Jamaica, Dr. Angela Brown Burke has encouraged members of parliament to facilitate this step, and will continue such efforts in collaboration with the PGA.
In her welcoming remarks, Ms. Marina Bardyna, MP, Deputy-Chair, Committee on Foreign Policy and Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation, expressed gratitude for the recognition of ongoing events in Ukraine, as mentioned by Dr. David Donat Cattin. She further explained that Ukraine is still in the process of ratifying the Rome Statute. The constitutional court in Ukraine declared the Rome Statute incompatible with the Ukrainian Constitution, resulting in considerable delay of ratification. Temporary occupation of certain territories in Ukraine by Russia have further hampered ratification of the Rome Statute. To expedite the process of ratification, taking into account the difficulties of amending the constitution, Ukraine has recognized the temporary jurisdiction of the ICC twice, in 2013 and 2015 respectively. Despite the numerous obstacles currently experienced in the ratification process, Ms. Marina Bardyna is convinced that ratification of Rome Statute will allow it to employ mechanisms to achieve international justice.
Dr. David chimed in by emphasizing the need to counter the fake news and propaganda that joining the ICC would give Ukraine a disadvantage in relation to Russia, and perhaps that this effort could be made in February.
Ms. Oleksandra Matviychuk, Chairwoman of the Center for Civil Liberties (Ukraine) first mentioned that Ukraine celebrated the anniversary of the Revolution of Dignity the previous week. She discussed events that have taken place since 2013, before moving to elaborate on former ICC Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda’s announcement of the conclusion of the preliminary examination of the situation in Ukraine in December 2020. Due to a number of factors, including budgetary constraints, the authorization of the opening of an investigation into the situation in Ukraine has been postponed for a year already. As such delays contradict effective justice, she suggested three recommendations. Firstly, she called on the Assembly of States Parties to adopt a budget that accommodates the Office of the Prosecutor with the resources to open an investigation, as well as to deliver effective justice to victims. Second, she called on the ICC Prosecutor to request authorization to open an investigation. Third, she called on the international community to make consolidated efforts to pressure Ukrainian officials, particularly the president, to ratify the Rome Statute and to immediately sign the Draft International Humanitarian Law Implementation Bill no. 2689.
Dr. David Donat Cattin responded by noting the independence and impartiality of the ICC Prosecutor in the conduct of investigations. He further emphasized the need to ensure that adequate funding is available to the ICC to ensure that it can deliver justice. Following this, Henk Cor van der Kwast thanked all speakers for the valuable insights into their respective situations. Like Dr. David Donat Cattin, he underlined the need for states to provide the ICC with the required budget, especially in light of the experiences shared during this event.
Mr. Fabio Massimo Castaldo, MEP (Italy), Vice-President of the European Parliament, shared his thoughts through a pre-recorded video in which he asked “how can we protect any democratic society when the most grave crimes remain unpunished, fueling a culture of impunity.” He emphasized that full implementation of the Rome Statute includes complementarity and provisions on state cooperation. Furthermore, he noted that the European Parliament is ready to make use of every possible avenue and opportunity for political dialogue to advance the ratification of the Rome Statute. Mr. Fabio Massimo Castaldo highlighted the importance of global campaigns by civil societies against impunity, explaining that these are essential to generate political endorsement and mobilization of support for the Rome Statute, and for states affected by human rights violations and abuses of power. He stressed the importance of the role of organizations, such as PGA, in the promotion of the universality of the Rome Statute. Concluding, he encouraged all 27 EU members who are States Parties to work together to pressure the European Commission to resume its direct support to civil society to achieve universality.
Participants and speakers discussed the utility and importance of engaging media in efforts to inform the public about the ICC and the Rome Statute, and the implications of a lack of information. Dr. Anegla Brown underlined the importance of bringing abstract discussions relating to international obligations of states to the general public through engaging them locally in the conversation, among others. Dr. David Donat Cattin concluded by stating that “we need to convey the message that the national interest to join [the ICC] equates to the interest of humanity to protect civilians and other vulnerable persons against crimes against humanity, genocide, war crimes and the crime of aggression.”