Our purpose: Promoting peace through criminal justice – preventing crimes of aggression
Through the United Nations Charter, States have expressed their commitment “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war”. They have agreed to renounce the illegal threat or use of force, and to settle their disputes “by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered”. States have the legal duty to abide by this commitment and the UN Security Council has the primary responsibility to enforce it.The Nuremberg Trials made it clear that criminal justice also has an important role to play for the promotion of peace and the deterrence of acts of aggression – though it remained limited and theoretical for many decades thereafter. With the 2010 Kampala amendments to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, States Parties created a new mechanism to enforce the most important rule of international law: the prohibition of the illegal use of force under the United Nations Charter. This website is dedicated to making accountability a reality.
News
Symposium Issue Honoring the Life and Work of Benjamin B Ferencz: The Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review dedicated its latest issue on the work of the co-founder of the Global Institute for the Prevention of Aggression (GIPA) Benjamin B. Ferencz. Five members of the GIPA were among the academics who contributed articles to the issue: Noah Weisbord described Ferencz’s worldview during the Cold War. Jennifer Trahan wrote about the limited jurisdiction of the ICC over the crime of aggression, an issue that Ferencz was deeply distressed by, and offered ways to amend it. David Donat Cattin explained the unique function of the crime against humanity of “other inhumane acts” in the progressive development and codification of ICL. Daniel D. Ntanda Nsereko explored the exceptions to head of state immunity. Gregory S. Gordon revisits the birth of ICL’s victim restoration-reparations regime to conceptualize its modern reform.
Seycelles becomes 49th State to accept Kampala amendments: The GIPA congratulates Seycelles on becoming the 49th State to accept the amendments on the crime of aggression on 1 July 2025.
Outcome of the Special Session: The ICC’s Assembly of States Parties has punted on the idea of harmonizing the ICC’s jurisdiction over all four ICC crimes (expanding the jurisdiction over the crime of aggression). With states such as France, the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Japan blocking substantive progress, the meetings have been put off until an intersessional meeting in 2027 to be followed by a Special Session in 2029. The outcome represents a very significant missed opportunity and a huge disappointment to the majority of States Parties present that supported the amendment as well as civil society. For the resolution that passed on 9 July 2025, see here.
Remarks by the GIPA convenor to the ASP: On 7 July 2025, Prof. Jennifer Trahan delivered remarks on behalf of the GIPA to the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) during the opening plenary session. She called on states to reject selectivity and double-standards by adopting the text proposal restoring the Rome Statute’s article 12 jurisdiction to cover all four Rome Statute crimes. Two days later, States Parties did not manage to agree on substantive reform. They adopted a resolution that only postpones the urgent need for reform to a special session in 2029 in New York.
Statement by NGOs on the lessons learnt from Kampala: On 8 July 2025, Al-Haq, European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), Fédération Internationale des ligues des Droits de l’Homme (FIDH), Global Institute for the Prevention of Aggression (GIPA), La Ligue pour la Paix, les Droits de l’Homme et la Justice (LIPADHOJ) and Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) gave a joint statement at the special session on the the review of the Kampala amendments. They emphasized that the accountability gaps of the Kampala regime “undermine the principle of equality before the law, equal access to justice for victims, while weakening the deterrent effect of the Court.” For the full statement, see here.
Side Event “Review of the Amendments on the Crime of Aggression”: On 8 July 2025, Africa Legal Aid (AFLA) hosted a side event on the review of the amendments on the crime of aggression at the headquarters of the United Nations. AFLA’s Executive Director Evelyn A Ankumah moderated the event. Franz Xaver Perrez, Director General, Directorate of International Law, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland, made the opening statement. Presentations were delivered by Samuel Mbemba Kabuya, Interim Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Seals of the DRC, Dr. Dominic Akuritinga-Ayine, Attorney General and Minister of Justice of Ghana, Edrick Noah, Assistant Minister, Administration and Public Safety, Ministry of Justice of Liberia, and Jennifer Trahan, Convenor of the GIPA. 
Seminar of Legal Advisors and International Law Experts on the Crime of Aggression: On 8 July 2025, experts of the Global Institute for the Prevention of Aggression offered a seminar and engaged in discussions with state representatives at the occasion of the Review Conference to explore drafting and technical issues in relation to the proposal to harmonize the jurisdiction of the ICC over all four crimes. Convenor Jennifer Trahan was the moderator of the panel that consisted of Astrid Reisinger Coracini, Patrycja Grzebyk, Claus Kreß and Carrie McDougall. The event was sponsored by the Permanent Missions of Germany, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Vanuatu. 