Chamber of Deputies, Parliament of Morocco
Rabat, Morocco | 04-05 December 2014
The Moroccan Parliament hosted from 04-05 December 2014 the 8th Consultative Assembly of Parliamentarians for the International Criminal Court and the Rule of Law (CAP ICC), a global gathering of legislators focused solely on the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the fight against impunity for the most serious crimes of international concern.
The Consultative Assembly coincided with PGA’s 36th Annual Forum. MPs and State Officials, the highest authorities of the Moroccan Parliament, prominent Governmental and International personalities, and a high-profile group of representatives from Civil Society, the judiciary, the legal professions and academia have attended.
This two-day event was inaugurated, among other prominent participants, by the Speaker of the Chamber of Representatives of Morocco, Hon. Rachid Talbi Alami who stated that the recent developments in the field of human rights in Morocco, shows the country’s "courage, wisdom and sense of political responsibility and morality”.
The Speaker of the Chamber of Councilors, Hon. Mohamed Cheikh Biadillah, stated that this session marked a very important moment in the efforts of promoting the universality and effectiveness of the Rome Statute and stressed the importance of the role of parliamentarians in establishing the necessary means for genuine investigations, effective cooperation mechanisms with the Court, ratification of the Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the Court and the political mobilization to fight against impunity.
The Minister of Justice, Hon. El Mustapha Ramid, put the emphasis on the need to adapt national legislation to international law in order to put an end to the culture of impunity and referred to a new project that reflects the Rome Statue provisions, including provisions on the crime of genocide and crimes against humanity.
Dip. Minou Tavárez Mirabal (Dominican Rep.), President of Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA), declared that:
“It is our individual and collective commitment, as Legislators in our respective States and as global citizens belonging to the PGA family, to make sure that the Nuremberg promise [“Crimes against international law are committed by men, not by abstract entities, and only by punishing individuals who commit such crimes can the provisions of international law be enforced”] is honoured and realized, so that the future generations will stop being victimized and affected by the inhumane and destructive force of international crimes.”
The outcomes of all the Panels and the Question-Time with the ICC Prosecutor have been incorporated in the “Rabat Action Plan on the Prevention of Atrocities, the Rule of Law and the International Criminal Court”. The document is divided into the following six sections, which reflect the goals of the Campaign for the Rome Statute of the ICC: Achieving the Universal Ratification of the Rome Statute
- Ensuring Full Cooperation with the ICC
- Promoting Fair and Effective Domestic Prosecutions (complementarity)
- Advancing the effective prevention of the most serious crimes on international concern
- Promoting respect for international humanitarian law and the prohibition of the unlawful use of force through the 2010 Kampala Amendments to the Rome Statute
- Maintaining a political/parliamentary constituency in favour of the Rule of Law and the prevention of the most serious crimes
Participants
[List of Participants: English | Français | Español]
All democratically elected Parliaments belonging to the Inter-Parliamentary Union have been invited by the Moroccan Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Karim Ghellab, and the former President of PGA, Mr. R. Robertson, MP (New Zealand) to attend the CAP-ICC.
Parliamentary delegations were primarily composed of legislators working directly on ICC-related topics, foreign affairs, defense, human rights, development, conflict management, education, health, budget.
Parliamentarians have been invited to participate actively in the debate by sharing the challenges and progress they or their countries are facing.
ICC Officials: As every session of the CAP-ICC, the highest ICC officials have been invited to actively participate in a debate session with the participants, starting with the President and the Office of the Prosecutor.
High Level International Officials have been invited to represent relevant international organizations involved in the fight against impunity, the protection of civilians and the representation of regional interest in conflict situations.
Government Officials: The CAP-ICC was inaugurated by the Speaker of the Chamber of Representatives, Mr. Rachid Talbi El Alami, MP. Other Moroccan officials have attended as well, such as the Head of the Government, the President of the Constitutional Court and the President of the Cour de Cassation of Morocco.
The 2014 CAP ICC coincides with the 36th Annual Parliamentary Forum of PGA, occasion during which the Defender of Democracy Award is presented to individuals who, through their own commitment and active engagement, have strengthened democracy and democratic practices world-wide.
Hon. Justice Navi Pillay, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; former President of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda; former ICC Judge; and Mr. Abdelaziz Bennani, former Vice President of the International Federation of Human Rights, co-founder and President of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network and member of the Equity and Reconciliation Commission are the awardees selected by the PGA Board for 2014.
Organising Committee
PARLIAMENTARIANS
N.B. Please note that this list is non-exhaustive. Other Members may join the Organizing Committee upon invitation of PGA:
- Dr. Mohamed Benabdessadeq, MP [Justice and Development Party]
- M. Najib El Khadi, Secretary General of the Chamber of Representatives
- M. Said Satraoui, Adviser, International Relations, Chamber of Representatives