18TH SESSION OF THE ASSEMBLY OF STATES PARTIES TO THE ROME STATUTE
Day 1 (2 December 2019)
Name of the Event: First Plenary Meeting of the Assembly of States Parties (‘ASP’)
Overview by: Francisca De Castro, Raghavi Viswanath, Junior Research Associates PILPG-NL
Main Highlights:
Opening statement by the President of the Assembly of States Parties, H.E O-Gon Kwon.
ICC President Chile Eboe-Osuji and Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda delivered statements. Both of them discussed the recent threats to the integrity and independence of the Court and called for strong support from States Parties.
ICC Prosecutor Bensouda invited States Parties to attend the launch of the OTP’s 2019 PE report on Friday December 6.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Trust Fund for Victims updated the ASP about developments relating to the TFV’s reparations and assistance mandate.
The President of the Assembly of States Parties, Mr. O-Gon Kwon, opened the 18th session of the ASP. Applause from the ASP followed after O-Gon Kwon invited States Parties to congratulate the Pacific Island state of Kiribati for acceding to the Rome Statute. The ASP President adopted the agenda for the week after a silent prayer.
In his opening remarks, O-Gon Kwon touched upon the need for state cooperation, the election of a new Prosecutor in 2020, and the Review of the Court. Regarding the Review of the Court, O-Gon Kwon stated that the Court acknowledges challenges and the need to face them. He discussed efforts in this regard, including a retreat of the Bureau in June this year to consider review of the Court followed by the creation of the Matrix (“Matrix over possible areas of strengthening the Court and the Rome Statute System”) by the ASP presidency, which forms a starting point for constructive dialogue. A draft resolution on the Review of the Court, including Terms of Reference for an Independent Expert Review (IER) covering (1) governance, (2) the judiciary and judicial process, and (3) preliminary examinations, investigation, and prosecution, will be introduced during a plenary meeting later this week. On Tuesday December 2 at 08:30, informal consultations on this draft resolution will be held.
Following the ASP President, ICC President Chile Eboe-Osuji took the floor. He lamented the recent threats against the Court’s integrity and independence, directly referring to threats made by the U.S. He urged States Parties to do “all that it takes – and be prepared to do more – to counter these threats, in all their ramifications.” He furthermore briefly touched upon the Review of the Court and Rome Statute System and urged states to keep the Review in the proper perspective. The value of the ICC should not be forgotten (“The ICC is indeed a most profound and valuable multilateral achievement”) and he urged states to see the ICC as an independent institution to give effect to the rule of law. States cannot demand ‘results’ that favor their interests in the ordinary sense. Instead, he stressed on the need to evaluate the Court’s performance objectively. He mentioned that the Court’s work had produced significant deterrence (especially in the context of the electoral violence in Africa).
The ICC Prosecutor, Ms. Fatou Bensouda, then updated the ASP on recent developments at the OTP. She welcomed the authorization to open an investigation in Bangladesh/Myanmar and stated that she has designated a team to prepare and commence work without delay. She furthermore informed the ASP of progress in the past year in investigations in for instance the situation in Iraq/UK, Colombia, and the Philippines. She highlighted the challenges of striking the right balance between the budgetary constraints faced by the OTP and the need to expand the reach of the OTP. Bensouda also touched upon threats against the Court and expressed the need for more robust, strong, and united voices from States Parties. She finally invited States Parties to attend the launch of the OTP’s 2019 Preliminary Examinations Report during a side event on Friday December 6.
Full statements of the ICC President and Prosecutor can be found here
The Chair of the Board of Directors of the Trust Fund for Victims (TFV), Mr. Felipe Michelini then reported to the ASP about the TFV’s work and developments in the implementation of the ICC’s reparations decisions. Notably, reparations have been disbursed to over 197 victims in the Katanga case. The TFV is currently collaborating with UNESCO to identify victims who are eligible to receive reparations in the Al Mahdi case. Michelini stressed the need to separate the reparations programme from the Court’s assistance mandate. In respect to the latter, he informed the ASP that progress had been made in identifying partners in Cote d’Ivoire and the Central African Republic. The TFV also expects to release reports on the progress made in the situations in Kenya and Georgia.
In the opening session, the ASP furthermore decided that the State of Palestine is set to replace Japan as a Bureau member from the end of the 18th session of the ASP until the end of the 19th session of the ASP, elected by consensus six members of the Committee of Budget and Finance (CBF), filled by consensus one vacancy in the CBF, and designated by consensus one member to the Advisory Committee on Nominations of judges.
Finally, the first plenary meeting saw the start of the general debate with the EU’s statement by Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pekka Haavisto. Mr. Haavisto called upon States Parties to preserve the integrity and independence of the Court (and expressed concern about measures taken against ICC officials) – through financial contributions, increased ratification of the Rome Statute, and the adoption of more effective national legislation. The EU’s statement also touched upon the Review of the Court and the upcoming judicial and prosecutorial elections, which Haavisto indicated should both be transparent processes.