CAIRO: On July 14 the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC) Convener William R. Pace held an hour-long live blogging session on the CICC blog, addressing questions from bloggers on a number of issues. Discussions centered around questions on the Rome Statute system – the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court (ICC) adopted on July 17, 1998, the recent developments in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, ongoing ratification of the Statute and implementation efforts in member nations, as well as the upcoming ICC elections for six new judges and a prosecutor. In response to a question regarding Egypt's ratification of the Rome Statute, Pace replied that it would be “a major advance nationally and regionally.” Egypt signed the treaty on December 26, 2000 but has yet to ratify the treaty. However, Pace also mentioned that the upcoming elections in Egypt must occur first before the parliament and government can take “the next steps” to ratify the treaty. Pace also emphasized that the relationship between ICC and the UN Security Council needs to be clearer. Although the ICC is an independent organization from the UN, the Rome Statute grants certain powers to the UN Security Council. “The issue of the relationship between the ICC and UN Security Council deserves to be addressed very seriously,” he wrote. Pace pointed out that the media and ICC opponents are “mixing up the issues.” Besides Egypt, other signatories in the MENA region include Algeria, Bahrain, Israel, Iran, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, Syria, UAE and Yemen. The live blogging session was held in advance of the upcoming International Justice Day on July 17, which celebrates the 13th anniversary of the Rome Statute. Pace said the CICC would commemorate International Justice Day “in solidarity with victims of crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes through a number of worldwide events.” According to votes collected during the blogging session Europe represented the highest number of bloggers who participated, 62 percent, while the MENA region represented 5 percent. The live blog session can be read at http://www.coalitionfortheicc.org/blog/
