NEWS: Belgium ratifies crime of aggression amendments

Belgium ratifies crime of aggression amendments: On 26 November 2013, Belgium deposited its instrument of ratification of the Kampala amendments with the Office of Legal Affairs of the United Nations. Belgium will become the 12th State Party to the crime of aggression amendments. Belgium took a leading role in the Kampala Review conference, as the main sponsor of the amendments to article 8 of the Rome Statute, which area also known as the Belgian amendments. These further align provisions relating to weapons, the use of which constitute war crimes, between non-international and international armed conflict. Like 11 other States Parties before it, Belgium chose to ratify both sets of amendments at the same time. Upon activation of the aggression amendments in 2017, the ICC will be the first international court since the International Military Tribunals in Nuremberg and Tokyo to hold individuals responsible for the crime of aggression.