The Consultative Assembly of Parliamentarians on the International Criminal Court and the Rule of Law (CAP-ICC) is the only global gathering of legislators focused solely on the Rome Statute system of the ICC.
The CAP-ICC is the largest project of PGA’s Campaign for the Rome Statute of the ICC. Its meetings represent a unique opportunity for several hundred legislators of all continents to discuss and define strategies to advance its universality and effectiveness.
2002: The Beginning
The CAP-ICC was launched in 2002 under the Campaign for the Rome Statute of the ICC and the leadership efforts of Hon. Irwin Cotler, MP and former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice of Canada, and Sen. Raynel Andreychuk (Canada), Convenor of the PGA Int. Law & Human Rights Program (1999-2003). The 1st Session was held in Ottawa in 2002, coinciding with the year the Rome Statute of the ICC entered into force. From 2002 to 2004, the CAP-ICC met on an annual basis. From 2004 onwards, the CAP-ICC meets on a biennial basis.
A Strategic Call to Action
Common aspects to the sessions of the CAP-ICC are the following ones:
- The sessions are held in strategic locations to facilitate the largest participation of lawmakers from countries targeted to advance the ratification/ accession and implementation of the Rome Statute and related international instruments.
- A strong final document or resolution is adopted at the end of each session, which MPs use as a road map to promote political initiatives to strengthen the Rome Statute system of the ICC.
- Regional Working Groups meetings are held in parallel, soliciting all opinions concerning the ICC and initiatives for the reinforcement of the rule of law, including from those who remain critical or sceptical of the role played by this international court.
- PGA employs a methodology of inter-parliamentary dialogue, peer-to-peer exchange and non-partisan approach to experiences from which no single voice of democratically elected representatives is excluded.
