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
Expert panel discusses policy options in ratifying the Kampala amendments: At an event organized in celebration of International Justice Day, 17 July, experts discussed the policy dimension of the Kampala Amendments. Christian Wenaweser, Permanent Representative of Liechtenstein to the UN, emphasized that it was unlikely that the ICC’s focus on genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes would change, even after the activation of the aggression amendments in 2017. Beth van Schaack, Professor at Santa Clara Law, sounded a note of caution, noting that a number of issues regarding the aggression amendments still needed to be resolved, and that States should be cautious in implementing the amendments. Focusing on Eastern Europe, Andrej Logar, Permanent Representative of Slovenia to the UN said States from the region were leaders in ratifying the Kampala Amendments. His own country had both ratified and implemented the amendments. The ICC would be ready to deal with the crime when it was activated, said Sang-Hyun Song, President of the Court, though adjustments to the rules and regulations of the Court, as well as in the budget, may become necessary.
In the subsequent discussion, Spain and Poland announced that their national ratification processes were coming to an end, and that they hoped to deposit their instruments of ratification by the end of September.
Photo (from left to right): Andrej Logar (Permanent Representative of Slovenia to the UN), Sang-Hyun Song (President, ICC), David Tolbert (Moderator, President, ICTJ), Christian Wenaweser (Permanent Representative of Liechtenstein to the UN), Beth van Schaack (Professor, Santa Clara Law)
European Parliament calls for Ratifications of the Kampala Amendments: On 17 July, in a resolution supported across party lines, the European Parliament expressed its support for the Kampala Amendments on the Crime of Aggression. In plain language, it called on EU Member States to ratify the amendments and support their activation. The EU as a whole was encouraged to develop a common position on the Crime of Aggression and to promote the ratification of the Rome Statute as amended with its external partners.
The resolution was initiated by the Green MEP and member of Parliamentarians for Global Action Barbara Lochbihler who said “EU governments can play a crucial role […] by ratifying the ‘Kampala Amendment.’” This sentiment was echoed by Liechtenstein’s Ambassador to the UN, Christian Wenaweser who noted that “this decision places the amendments in the context of the campaign for universality of the Rome Statute and is a significant contribution to the acceptance of the revised Rome Statute.”
- Text of the resolution
- Parliamentarians for Global Action Press Release
- The Greens / European Free Alliance Press Release
Austria 15th State to ratify Kampala Amendments: On 17 July, Martin Sajdik, Permanent Representative of Austria to the United Nations, deposited his country’s instrument of ratification of the Kampala Amendments. With this 15th ratification, our campaign has reached a halfway point towards the goal of achieving 30 ratifications by the end of 2015, and thus allowing for the activation of the amendments in early 2017. Austria has become the ninth Member State of the European Union to ratify the amendments.
Please follow us on twitter @CrimeAggression for the latest news on this International Justice Day.
Photo: UN/Win Khine
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pcoming Panel Discussion: “Into the homestretch – towards the activation of the Kampala Amendments on the Crime of Aggression“: The Mission of Liechtenstein and the Global Institute for the Prevention of Aggression will be commemorating 17 July, International Criminal Justice Day, with a panel discussion on the crime of aggression at UN Headquarters in New York. The panel will feature Judge Sang-Hyun Song, President of the International Criminal Court, renowned international legal scholar Beth van Schaack, as well as the Permanent Representatives of Liechtenstein and Slovenia to the United Nations. It will be moderated by David Tolbert, President of the International Center for Transitional Justice. The panelists will explore the relevance of the amendments and the challenges ahead of their activation in 2017.
All are invited to attend. Please have a look at our upcoming events page for more information, including how to register.
Foreign Ministers of Slovenia and Liechtenstein call for ratification of Kampala Amendments: The open letter was penned by Karl Erjavec, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia and Aurelia Frick, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Liechtenstein on the occasion of the regional workshop for Eastern Europe. In their letter, the ministers take stock of the founding and operation of the International Criminal Court, concluding that “never before has international criminal justice been such an important factor in the international community’s response to violent conflict.” They then turn to the Kampala Amendments on the crime of aggression which will enable the ICC to help to enforce a key provision of the Charter of the United Nations. Activation of the amendments would be a triumph of principles over politics. “We invite all our fellow ICC States Parties to join us on this path and call upon States not Parties to the Rome Statute to embrace the ICC and, by so doing, join the fight against impunity,” the ministers conclude.
The full text of the open letter is available online.
Photo credit: Kris Kotarski/Wayamo Foundation and United Nations
Successful conclusion of regional workshop for Eastern Europe: The two-day seminar brought together States from the Eastern European region to discuss the ratification and implementation of the Kampala amendments on the crime of aggression. There is no doubt that the region is on the leading edge of the fight against illegal war making: four States from the region have ratified the amendments (Croatia, Estonia, Slovakia, Slovenia), five more are expected to ratify before the end of the year (Albania, Czech Republic, Georgia, Macedonia, Poland), and the remaining nine are working on the ratification process. Speakers at the workshop included Karl Erjavec, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Slovenia and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who contributed a video message, as well as the Presidents of the International Criminal Court and its Assembly of States Parties.
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
Photo: Kris Kotarski / Wayamo Foundation
Prohibiting the illegal use of force – promoting of the Kampala Amendments in Eastern Europe: On 15 and 16 May, Slovenia, Liechtenstein and the Global Institute for the Prevention of Aggression will be hosting a workshop on the Kampala Amendments and the universality of the Rome Statute in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The high-level segment will feature ICC-President Judge Song, UN Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs Serpa Soares, President of the ICC-States Parties Intelmann and Slovenian Foreign Minister Erjavec, as well as video messages by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Ben Ferencz. Four of the 18 Eastern European States Parties have ratified the amendments (most recently Slovakia on 18 April 2014), and several others will do so in the near future. The workshop aims to encourage even more States in the region to ratify and to provide concrete assistance for this process. Eastern European States which have not joined the Rome Statute yet are also invited.
For more information, see upcoming events as well as the event’s programme.
Media representatives are invited to a press conference. Any enquiries about media coverage of the workshop should be sent to Bettina Ambach (Bettina@bettinaambach.de).
Photo © tourism-ljubljana
Slovakia ratifies Kampala Amendments: On 28 April 2014, State Secretary Peter Burian deposited Slovakia’s instrument of ratification of the Kampala Amendments at the United Nations. Slovakia is the 14th State to have ratified the Kampala Amendments on the Crime of Aggression, the fourth Eastern European State and the seventh NATO Member State to do so. The Ratification comes on the eve of the regional workshop on the Kampala Amendments for the Eastern European region, which will take place in Ljubljana, Slovenia on 15 & 16 May. See our upcoming events page for more information.