Side Event – “Ratification of the Rome Statute as an important step to combating impunity for grave crimes in Ukraine (hosted by Ukrainian Legal Advisory Group)

Overview by Sally Eshun, Intern PILPG NL

Highlights:

• Civil society in Ukraine urges the Ukrainian government to ratify the Rome Statute in order to investigate crimes ranging from acts of sexual violence to forced conscription committed in Ukraine.

Hosted by the Ukrainian Legal Advisory Group, this side event focused on the impunity for grave crimes in Ukraine. At the beginning of the event, a short but impressive film was shown with victims and their relatives giving their account on arbitrary detention, torture, and enforced disappearance. The conflict in Eastern Ukraine and Crimea has been ongoing since 2014. Civil society in Ukraine are pushing the Ukrainian government to ratify the Rome Statute in order to investigate crimes ranging from acts of sexual violence to forced conscription. 

Alina Pavliuk from the Ukrainian Legal Advisory Group briefly explained that it is important for Ukraine to ratify the Rome Statute and emphasised that no one is above the law, particularly considering that the status of official capacities is irrelevant under the Rome Statute. She called for members of the EU, NATO, and State Parties of the ICC to encourage the Ukrainian government to ratify the Rome Statute. 

Maksym Tymochko from the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union shed light on the use of human shields by Russian forces as a war crime. Through this method, public institutions like the Supreme Council in Crimea or military bases were seized, according to Mr. Tymchko. He discussed evidence that shows how during the active phase of the conflict in February and March of 2014, the local population was used as human shields. According to him, the evidence also proves that the perpetrators were high ranking Russian military officials and that under command responsibility individuals like the Russian defence minister and the commander of the Black Sea fleet need to be held accountable. He finally mentioned that a communication of Ukrainian Human Rights NGOs is on the way to the ICC presenting the crime of using civilian population as human shields. 

Vitaliy Nabukhotny from the Regional Center for Human Rights talked about forced conscription committed on a wide and systematic scale in Crimea and how refusal is punishable under Crimean law – punishments include financial penalties, forced labour, and imprisonment. The way in which forced conscription is taking place in Crimea is unprecedented since WWII, according to Mr. Nabukhotny, which is why jurisprudence on this matter is lacking significantly. 

Natalie Hrytsenko, from the Eastern Ukrainian Centre for Civic Initiatives Coalition, focused on sexual and gender-based crimes committed in the Donbas region. She noted that documentation has shown that the majority of these crimes take place in illegal detention facilities. Sexual violence is a significant part of the conflict, she added. While it is not always rape, other acts that are considered as sexual violence within the Ukrainian context are being committed. An example is forced labour according to gender stereotypes, namely women being forced to clean the bathroom facilities of military personnel and doing laundry. Another example Ms. Hrytsenko mentioned was of men forced to wear women’s clothes in order to humiliate them. Sexual crimes took place on a large scale and were utilised as punishment, during interrogation and/or extortion techniques, she concluded. Generally, the panel of this side event agreed upon that the ratification of the Rome Statute is necessary given the plethora of crimes committed.     

Side Event – “Global Civil Society and European States: Advancing international justice in the 20 years to come”

(co-hosted by Austria as Presidency of the Council of the European Union and Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC))

Overview by Vicki Tien, Research Associate PILPG NL

Highlights:

• The image of the Court is considered one of the key challenges that the ICC faces. The Panelists and audience focused on misinformation and misinterpretation of the Court and the measures to solve it.  

• The Participants emphasized the need to defend the Court whenever it faces attacks. 

This side event, co-hosted by the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the Coalition for the International criminal Court (CICC), aimed to discuss the role that the European States and global civil society can play in response to the current challenges that the ICC faces. 

Moderated by Konrad Bühler (the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the European Union) and Virginie Amato (CICC), Mr Bühler first addressed the problems that the Court faces, particularly the issue of misinformation and misinterpretation of ICC, and he asked the audience a key question: “what is the public image of the Court?”

The floor was then opened to the panelists. The first speaker focused on the importance of gaining support toward the ICC from the general public and encouraged the member states to train media and journalists about criminal justice in order to provide accurate information on the Court to the public. The second panelist from the Ukrainian Legal Advisor Group also addressed the issue of misinformation about the Court. The third panelist, from the U.S., discussed the attack launched against the ICC by the Trump administration and claimed that the level of such attacks was unprecedented in U.S. history. The panelist urged to counter misinformation and hostility against the ICC. The fourth panelist from the Georgian Coalition for the ICC discussed the challenges in the context of the ongoing investigation in Georgia, such as the fact that the Court has no access to the Georgian territory that is currently occupied by Russia and the importance of outreach to the general public in Georgia about the work of the ICC. The panelist stressed that human rights are violated on an ongoing basis in Georgia and called upon other states to pressure Russia. The panelist also urged to increase funding for the Trust Fund for Victims. 

When the floor was given to the audience, a Romanian ambassador first emphasized the importance of global outreach in all states to educate the general public about the mandate of the ICC and thereby solve the problem of misinformation about the Court. The ambassador urged to counter the attacks against the Court with substantive arguments and a simple, clear language. The second comment from the audience, from a legal advisor at the UN, touched upon the issue regarding the attacks against the Court and called upon everyone to defend the Court through a focus on the positive outcomes of the ICC. The third comment came from an ambassador from Latvia and she also touched upon the problem of misinformation about the Court. 

Ninth Plenary Meeting: Progress report by the Coordinators & Introduction of Draft Resolutions

Overview by Filipe Gomes Dias Costa, Research Associate PILPG NL

During the 9thplenary meeting of the 17thAssembly of States Parties on 10 December 2018 the (co-)facilitators of various Working Groups gave their updates concerning relevant developments.

For the working group on budget, consensus was not yet reached on outstanding matters before the then upcoming working session this early afternoon. The Chair, H.E. Jens-Otto Horslund (Denmark) underscored the role that informal negotiations may play in solving the current deadlock.

Similarly, the facilitator of the omnibus resolution highlighted the lack of consensus hitherto regarding paragraphs outstanding. Consensus is expected to be reached by the afternoon after closer negotiations with key States Parties.

The credentials committee forwarded its interim report on the accreditation for the ASP in order to reach its conclusion in the following sessions. 

Representatives of States Parties publicized draft resolutions before the ASP. The co-facilitators for the working group on cooperation, France and Senegal, submitted a draft resolution on cooperation, taking note of the importance of civil society participation within the Court and commending the role played by expert witness. This resolution has reached consensus in its working group. Facilitator of the working group on amendments, Mexico, submitted a draft resolution proposing amendments to Article 26 of the Rome Statute in order to align the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the Court with the mandate of the Independent Oversight Mechanism concerning the receipt and admissibility of complaints by the IOM. This draft also possesses consensus within its working group. Lastly, the facilitator for the resolution on the remuneration of judges, Ecuador, submitted a draft resolution on the revision of judges’ remuneration, remarking the existence of consensus in the matter after eight meetings of the working group. 

Eight Plenary Meeting: Consideration of the Budget and the Audit Reports

Overview by Kathryn Gooding, Research Associate PILPG NL

Highlights: 

• The Court emphasized its desire to balance the need to save money, with the need to ensure that the Court is effective in delivering its mandate. 

• A major concern for the Court is the number of States Parties in arrears.

The 8th plenary meeting of the 17thAssembly of States Parties concerned the proposed budget of the ICC for 2019. The Registrar ofthe ICC, Peter Lewis, emphasized that the ICC understands that many states have undergone budgetary cuts and that their ability to contribute to the Budget is increasingly limited. However, he noted that the ICC was given a mandate by States Parties, and to be able to effectively carry out its mandate, the Court must have a sufficient budget to be effective. 

The Registrar noted that the ICC aims to reduce costs and enhance its efficiency, by improving its responsiveness and flexibility. The proposed budget for 2019 is claimed to be an important step in that direction. Peter Lewis noted that it is the lowest budget in years, as the ICC was able to identify means to reduce costs. However, he emphasized that the Court’s ability to reduce additional costs depends on the volume of work it is dealing with, and this must be considered in light of the fact that the Court is operating in 11 situations, and that there are hearings in three trials. Therefore, Peter Lewis argued that the Court needs resources to deliver its essential mandate, but that the Court also needs to strive for disciplined and efficient organization. 

The Chair of the Committee on Budget and Finance (CBF), Hitoshi Kozaki, put forward that the Court proposes a programme budget of €147,55 million for 2019, which represents an increase of 2.6 per cent compared to the 2018 budget. Kozaki noted his concern regarding the status of contributions to the budget. He was concerned that there are a number of outstanding contributions to the budget, totaling €19.2 million.   

The meeting continued with a consideration by the Auditor of the audit reports of the financial statements of the ICC, the financial statements of the Trust Fund for Victims, and the management of the Court’s human resources. The external auditor noted that the financial statements were a faithful reflection of the Court and the TFV. The main expenditure of the Court was found to have been staff costs, which increased by 6.4 percent compared to 2018. The Auditor mirrored the concerns of Kozaki that there are major threats to the cash flow of the Court due to the outstanding contributions of some States Parties. He therefore recommended the ICC to strengthen the means of recovering arrears. The Auditor, finally, with regard to the Court’s management of human resources, noted recent successes in gender parity and geographical representation within the Court and referred to the ten detailed recommendations to the Court with regard to human resources. 

Side Event –“Commemorating 20 years of the ICC in Africa through cartoons” (co-hosted by the United Kingdom and Journalist for Justice))

Overview by Sally Eshun, Intern PILPG NL

The renowned and award-winning Kenyan cartoonist Godfrey Mwampembwa presented his work during this side event entitled “Commemorating 20 years of the ICC in Africa through cartoons” and explained to the attendees the current state of artists doing editorial cartoons in Kenya and East Africa as a whole. He explained that they are exposed to verbal abuse, threats and self-censoring by their editors. Particularly, the critique of the ICC having Situations in mainly African countries is being tackled in the cartoons but also the influence the ICC has on domestic politics in countries like Kenya, the Central African Republic, or Côte d’Ivoire. Mr. Mwampembwa noted his appreciation of how editorial cartoons can initiate discussions around issues in a way that other means of media cannot, particularly with an issue that is so multi-faceted like the ICC and its relationship with African countries.