Past Events

The 20th Anniversary of the Rome Statute and the Day the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction over the Crime of Aggression is Activated
| Ministerial Panel Discussion | New York City, USA |  17 July 2018

Seminar for States Parties to the Rome Statute of the ICC on the Activation of the Court’s Jurisdiction over the Crime of Aggression | organized by the Permanent Missions of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Liechtenstein, Slovenia, Tunisia, the Global Institute for the Prevention of Aggression and the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination| Princeton, New Jersey |  17 & 18 June 2016

State Party representatives, academics and representatives of civil society brought together at Princeton University for a discussion on the history, ratification, and activation of the Kampala Amendments on the crime of aggression.

Please see our Report for more information.

Towards the activation of the Kampala Amendments on the crime of aggression | Side event at the fourteenth session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute | The Hague, World Forum Conference Centre, Room Europe 1 & 2 | 24 November 2015, 9:00 to 10:00 a.m.

Panel:

H.E. Mr. Christian Wenaweser, Permanent Representative of the Principality of Liechtenstein to the United Nations

H.E. Mr. Alvaro Moerzinger, Ambassador or Uruguay to the Netherlands, Vice-President of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute (tbc)

Mr. Donald M. Ferencz, Convener, Global Institute for the Prevention of Aggression

Ms. Romina S. Morello, Legal Adviser, Parliamentarians for Global Action

All are invited to attend. For more information, please contact rene.holbach@nyc.llv.li.

Please see our invitation as well as a brief summary of the event for further details.

The Role of Parliaments in Criminalizing Illegal and Aggressive War-Making | Side event organized on the margins of the 4th World Conference of Speakers of Parliament | United Nations Headquarters, New York  | 1 September 2015, 1:15 to 2:30 p.m.

Welcoming Remarks:

  • H.E. Albert Frick, President of the Liechtenstein Parliament

Panel:

  • Mr. Benjamin Ferencz, Prosecutor in the Nuremberg Trials (video message)
  • Dr. Felipe Michelini, Member of the Truth and Justice Commission, Uruguay; Former Member, Chamber of Deputies, Uruguay; Former Board Member, Parliamentarians for Global Action
  • Mr. Stefan Barriga, Deputy Permanent Representative of Liechtenstein to the United Nations

Commenatries from Speakers of Parliament:

  • Hon. Moustapha Niasse, Speaker of the Parliament of Senegal
  • Hon. Jean Max Rakotomamonjy, Speaker of the National Assembly of Madagascar

Conclusions:

  • Mark Pritchard, MP (UK House of Commons), Chair of the PGA UK National
    Group
  • Dip. Minou Tavarez Mirabal (Dominican Republic), President of Parliamentarians for Global Action

Additional materials available:

Into the homestretch: towards the activation of the Kampala Amendments on the crime of aggression | Interactive Panel Discussion on the Crime of Aggression on the occasion of International Justice Day| United Nations Headquarters, New York | 17 July 2014

Panel:

Hon. Judge Sang-Hyun Song, President of the International Criminal Court

H.E. Mr. Andrej Logar, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Slovenia to the United Nations

H.E. Mr. Christian Wenaweser, Permanent Representative of the Principality of Liechtenstein to the United Nations

Prof. Beth van Schaack, Professor of Law, Santa Clara University – School of Law

Moderator:

Mr. David Tolbert, President, International Center for Transitional Justice

For further details, please see:

Seminar on the Ratification and Implementation of the Kampala Amendments to the Rome Statute of the ICC: “Turning the Kampala Amendments into Reality” | organized by Slovenia, Liechtenstein and the Global Institute for the Prevention of Aggression | Brdo, Slovenia |  15 & 16 May 2014

The workshop is aimed at States from the Eastern European region. Government representatives will be brought together with practitioners, senior academics and civil society representatives to explore the content of the Kampala Amendments.

Please see our draft programme for more information.

Statements:
UN Secretary-General’s message
Ben Ferencz’s message
President Song‘s statement
UN Legal Counsel‘s statement.

Press Releases:

Press Release by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia
Joint Press Release

Workshop for the Universality of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the Kampala Amendments on the Crime of Aggression in the Pacific Region | organized by New Zealand, Liechtenstein and the Global Institute for the Prevention of Aggression | Auckland, New Zealand | 6 & 7 March 2014

The workshop was aimed at States from the Pacific region as well as the adjacent Asian States. Government representatives were brought together with practitioners, senior academics and civil society representatives to explore the content of the Rome Statute and the Kampala Amendments as well as the current work of the International Criminal Court and the challenges it faces.

Please see the final report of the event.
Please see the draft programme for more information. Relevant documents:

Exchange of views on the Kampala amendments to the Rome Statute on the Crime of Aggression | at the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights, Brussels | 12 February 2014, 15.00 CET

The Human Rights Subcommittee of the European Parliament (DROI) exchange views on the crime of aggression amendments. The conversation will be informed by briefings from David Donat Cattin of Parliamentarians for Global Action and Gérard Dive (Belgium). You can watch the archived webcast on the European Parliament’s website.

The Crime of Aggression: Experiences of Early Ratifiers
Panel Discussion at the ICC Assembly of States Parties
Organized by Liechtenstein and the Global Institute for the Prevention of Aggression The Hague, The Netherlands | 22 November 2012

Representatives of Botswana, Germany, Slovenia, Trinidad and Tobago and Uruguay shared their countries’ experiences in ratifying the Kampala amendments on the crime of aggression. For more information, please see a summary of the event.

Ministerial Panel: A Call to ratify the Kampala amendments on the crime of aggression
Organized by Liechtenstein and the Global Institute for the Prevention of Aggression
United Nations, New York | 27 September 2013

Some 40 States took part in this event to promote the ratification of the Kampala amendments on the crime of aggression. The archived webcast of the event is available to be viewed online. A summary is also available.

Panelists:
H.E. Ms. Aurelia Frick, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Principality of Liechtenstein (host)
Mr. Miguel de Serpa Soares, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, delivering a message on behalf of the Secretary-General
H.E. Mr. Phandu Skelemani, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Botswana
H.E. Mr. Urmas Paet, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Estonia
H.E. Mr. Eduardo Zuaín, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of Argentina

Have a look at the concept note for more information.

African regional workshop on the ratification and implementation of the Kampala amendments
Organized by Botswana, Liechtenstein and the Global Institute for the Prevention of Aggression
Gaborone, Botswana | 15 & 16 April 2013

Representatives from 26 African States Parties met in Gaborone, Botswana to discuss the ratification and implementation of the Kampala Amendments. The results of the workshop have been captured in a joint communiqué.

More details are available in the summary report of the workshop, available in English and French.

Statements were made by several high-level attendees including

  • Ian Khama, President of Botswana
  • Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations, message delivered by Zachary Muburi-Muita, head of the UN Office to the African Union
  • Aurelia Frick, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Liechtenstein
  • Dikgakgamatso Ndelu Seretse, Minister of Defence, Justice and Security of Botswana
  • Andries Nel, Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development of South Africa
  • Christian Wenaweser, Permanent Representative of Liechtenstein to the UN

The following documents may also be of interest:

  • Aggression in the African Context — an information sheet produced by the Global Institute for the Prevention of Aggression (also available in French).
  • Statement by Hon. Stephen Tashobya, Chair, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, Uganda, who was not able to participate in the workshop in person.

The workshop programme is also available online.

Ratification and implemementation of the Kampala Amendments on the Crime of Aggresssion in the European Context: Side Event at the Council of Europe Committee of Legal Advisers on Public International Law (CAHDI)
Organized by Liechtenstein and the Global Institute for the Prevention of Aggression
Strasbourg, France | 26 March 2013

A summary of this event, held on the margins of the semi-annual CAHDI meeting is now available. Please also see the introductory speech given by the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland.

Consultative Assembly of Parliamentarians for the ICC and the Rule of Law (7th session)
Celebrating 10 years of the Rome Statute
Organized by Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA)
Rome, Italy | 10-11 December 2012

For more details, including a summary, documents and videos, please click here.

Legal Workshop for States Parties Interested in the Ratification and Implementation of the Kampala Amendments to the Rome Statute – ASP side-event
Organized by Liechtenstein and the Global Institute for the Prevention of Aggression
The Hague, The Netherlands | 17 November 2012

For more information, please see the informal report, which summarises the workshop proceedings. An official program is also available.

Promoting ratification and implementation of the Kampala Amendments to the Rome Statute (Crime of Aggression; Article 8) – ASP side-event
Organized by Belgium, Liechtenstein and the Global Institute for the Prevention of Aggression
The Hague, The Netherlands | 16 November 2012

See the official program of the event, the speech by the keynote speaker Dr. Athaliah Molokomme, Attorney-General of Botswana.

The proceedings of the side/event have also been summarised in an informal report.

The Tenth Seminar of Counsel of the ICC & Training Program
Organized by the Counsel of the Interational Criminal Court
The Hague, The Netherlands | 15 – 19 October 2012

See the official page of the seminar and its agenda.

A diez años de la entrada en vigor del Estatuto de Roma: ¿Cuánto ha avanzado la justicia penal internacional?
Organized by Peru, ICRC, CICC, indehpucp, Maestría en Derechos Humanos
Lima, Peru | 17 – 18 September 2012 

See the report of the conference (in Spanish).

Ministerial Panel: Preventing the illegal use of force through judicial accountability – The role of the ICC and its States Parties after the adoption of the Kampala Amendments on the Crime of Aggression
Organized by Liechtenstein and the Global Institute for the Prevention of Aggression
United Nations, New York | 24 September 2012

See the meeting summary, the concept note, as well as the opening address of Liechtenstein Foreign Minister H.E. Ms. Aurelia Frick.

Panelist:
H.E. Ms. Aurelia Frick, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Principality of Liechtenstein (Host)
Mr. Benjamin Ferencz – Chief Prosecutor at the Nuremberg “Einsatzgruppen” Trial (Keynote speaker)
H.E. Mr. Phandu Skelemani, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Botswana
H.E. Mr. Winston Dookeran, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
H.E. Mr. Armand De Decker, Minister of State, Kingdom of Belgium

The discussions at the side-event to the General Assembly High-level meeting on the Rule of Law were highly positive. Following a keynote speech by Ben Ferencz, 15 States Parties from different regions expressed their strong commitment to ratify the Kampala amendments. Many of them echoed the concrete pledges they had made in this regard at the General Assembly meeting. The UN Legal Counsel and the President of the Assembly of States Parties gave supportive statement. Three Non-States Parties also took the floor, of which only the United States expressed concerns.

Workshop: Promoting the Implementation of the 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the Kampala Amendments on the Crime of Aggression
Organized by the Sierra Leone Institute for International Law
Freedom Town, Sierra Leone | 12 – 14 July 2012

See the communique of the workshop.

Workshop for States Parties interested in the Ratification and Implementation of the Kampala Amendments to the Rome Statute
Organized by Liechtenstein and the Global Institute for the Prevention of Aggression
New York City, United States | 25 June 2012

See the programme of the workshop.

The workshop focused on policy considerations and legal implications regarding the ratification and/or implementation of the Kampala amendments on the crime of aggression. Besides ratification efforts, the emphasis was placed on criminalizing crimes of aggression at the domestic level, meaning the implementation of the definition, as well as on when the Court has jurisdiction with regards to different situations involving States Parties and non-States Parties, while a case could be referred to the ICC by a State Party, the Prosecutor or the Security Council. All aspects discussed and elaborated upon in the course of the workshop were used as a starting point for the development of the detailed ratification and implementation handbook. In addition, as part of a tour de table, representatives of States present expressed their commitment to ratify and/or implement the Kampala amendments and reported about the progress in their countries, which has been reflected in the progress report. Furthermore, some delegations in the room voiced their strong opinion that all States taking part in military operations in other countries around the globe should be bound by the rule of law, meaning that potential cases of an act of aggression should be investigated by the ICC by all means.

Interministerial Commission for Humanitarian Law
Organized by Belgium – Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Brussels, Belgium | 5 June 2012 See the speech of the Foreign Minister of Belgium, H.E. Mr Didier Reynders, entitled “10th anniversary of entry into force of the Rome Statute”. See also the speech of the Deputy Representative of Liechtenstein, Mr Sefan Barriga, entitled “Exercise of Jurisdiction and Entry Into Force of the Amendments on the Crime of Aggression”.

The event has resulted in an edited volume, which is available for purchase.