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
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. GIPA members were advocating strongly for a different outcome and hope that States make use of the postponed opportunity for reform in 2029.
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.
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. 
Side event on “The Devastating Impact on Victims of Aggression and the Case for Harmonization from a Civil Society Perspective”: On 7 July 2025, the ECCHR, GIPA, PGA and TRIAL International, in partnership with the Victims’ Rights Working Group, co-organized a side event to the Special Session of the ICC Assembly of States Parties. This side event aimed to elevate the voices of victims of the crime of aggression to highlight the human impact of the current limitation of the ICC’s jurisdiction over the crime of aggression. Colombian Ambassador Juan José Quintana, the Chair of the Working Group on Amendments, made the opening remarks. This was followed by a pre-recorded speech by Oleksandra Matviichuk, Chairwoman of Center for Civil Liberties and laureate of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize (Ukraine). The event was co-sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the UN. 
Preparation for the upcoming Review of the Kampala Amendments: The Global Institute for the Prevention of Aggression offers a short document with the most important questions and answers on the proposed amendment to harmonize jurisdiction over all four Rome Statute crimes. This offers State delegates a perparation for the upcoming review of the Kampala amendments on the crime of aggression that will take place from 7 to 9 July 2025 in NYC. For the document, see here.
The event was supported by the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland and the Global Challenges Foundation (Sweden), and was organized in partnership with the Montreal Institute for Global Security.
