The Coalition for an International Criminal Court (CICC) has called on the Egyptian government to join the International Criminal Court (ICC) without any delay to prove Egypt's commitment to international justice and the rule of law. The CICC sent a letter to President Mubarak on May 6 stressing the need that Egypt speed up its ratification to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which Egypt signed on December 26, 2000. The CICC includes some 2,500 NGOs. In its letter, it affirms that Egypt has been chosen as the monthly target of a campaign urging every month a different country to join the ICC. The letter called on Egypt to respond to the appeal of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), which includes 118 countries, to back the Court while the Review Conference is getting closer (2010). The CICC also noted that the final document of the NAM ministerial meeting, which was held last April, called on the CICC members to join the Court if they had not done so yet. The letter praised Egypt's and the Arab League's support to peace in Sudan. However, it urged not to resort to Article 16 about putting off the trial of President Al-Bashir by the UN Security Council, as such measure would only delay justice for victims. CICC Chairman William Pace said Egypt played a very influential role in the Arab and Islamic world, pointing out that it hosted the headquarters of the League of Arab States and was an example to imitate. "Ratification should be a priority for Egypt, and we urge it to support the ICC in order to achieve justice" he said. The Head of the Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession, Nasser Amin, said that if Egypt ratified the Rome Statute, it would be an example for other Arab states. "We praise the Egyptian government's participation and effective work in setting up the ICC since the 1998 Rome Conference. Time has come, though, for action to be taken to live up to those promises and join the Court" he said. The States Parties to the ICC are 108, including 3 Arab countries, namely Jordan, Djibouti and Comoros.
