NEW YORK: Member states of the International Criminal Court (ICC) meeting for the first time since the ICC review conference in Kampala in May and June 2010, should make good on their promises to increase their commitment to international justice, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch called on governments to pay special attention to strengthening cooperation with the ICC and increasing assistance to national jurisdictions to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The annual session of the Assembly of States Parties will begin on December 6 at the United Nations headquarters in New York. The 114 member countries, including three new members, will take part. “ICC members should build on the important foundation laid in Kampala,” said Elizabeth Evenson, senior international justice counsel at Human Rights Watch. “This meeting of states parties is the time for governments to take new concrete action to ensure that those responsible for the worst international crimes face justice.” The review conference in Kampala was mandated under the Rome Statute, the treaty that created the court. The conference was required seven years after the statute went into effect in 2002 to consider amendments to the treaty. The ICC relies on governments to enforce its decisions and assist its investigations and prosecutions. A backlash over the court's arrest warrants for President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan has underscored the importance of strong public backing for the court's mandate, Human Rights Watch said. Human Rights Watch called on member states to bolster their joint efforts to secure cooperation by creating a permanent working group on cooperation within the Assembly of States Parties and by appointing a facilitator to increase expressions of commitment to the ICC's mandate in UN debates. “ICC member states should redouble their efforts to support the ICC and one another in their cooperation with the court in the face of continued opposition by al-Bashir and his allies,” Evenson said. “They should equip themselves to make the most of opportunities that arise at the UN General Assembly and Security Council year-round.” The ICC should also increase its engagement with the African Union, and member states should make sure that happens, Human Rights Watch said. At the review conference, nearly 40 countries made specific pledges of concrete, increased assistance to the court. Human Rights Watch urged governments to report on progress in carrying out these pledges and to make new pledges of support during the December meeting. Human Rights Watch also urged governments to strengthen the Assembly of States Parties' capacity to promote joint efforts to improve national-level trials of ICC crimes. The ICC only acts in cases in which national courts are unable or unwilling to hold credible trials at home, and its reach is limited to a handful of cases. The central role of national courts in holding all perpetrators of the worst international crimes to account received heightened attention in discussions at Kampala. “ICC members recognize that impunity for the worst crimes must also be fought at the national level, including by increasing assistance to give national courts the resources they need for the task,” Evenson said. “To make this happen, the Assembly of States Parties should forge new relationships between the ICC and development assistance programs.” Member states will also set the ICC's annual budget. Economic pressure on national budgets appears to be fueling an interest by member governments in more robust oversight of the court. Another factor may be delays in judicial proceedings, including a recent stay in the first ICC trial, that of Thomas Lubanga, a Congolese rebel leader. The Lubanga trial resumed last month, and the ICC has recently started its third trial, that of Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, a Congolese former vice president, rebel leader, and opposition party leader, on charges of crimes committed in neighboring Central African Republic. HRW
