New York / The Hague

The Government of Belgium on November 26, 2013 deposited at the United Nations in New York its Instrument of Ratification of the Amendments to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, adopted in Kampala in 2010, thereby accepting to bind its nationals and territory to the prohibition of the use of certain weapons in armed conflicts not of an international character, as well as to the criminalization of acts of aggression arising from the illegal use of force in international relations.

This Deposit is of further significance as it also serves to consolidate ongoing global efforts to achieve universal ratification of the Kampala Amendments related to the Crime of Aggression. Eleven other nations from all regions of the world have ratified both Amendments to date - Liechtenstein, Samoa, Luxembourg, Estonia and Trinidad and Tobago, Germany, Botswana, Cyprus, Slovenia, Andorra and Uruguay. Through this ratification, Belgium has made an important contribution towards the goal of achieving 30 ratifications before 2017.

Members of Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) continue to spearhead global support for the criminalisation of Aggression. Thanks to the work of PGA members, on October 19, 2013 the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino), has adopted a parliamentary resolution linking the doctrine of human rights –with explicit reference to the human right of all individuals to live in a peaceful society where all interdependent human rights may be protected– and the criminalization of aggressive use of armed force via the ratification of the Kampala Amendments. Moreover, at the European Parliament, PGA Members have consistently called for support for the Amendments. Today, PGA Member Parliamentarians around the world renew their calls to their respective governments to continue steadfast in their work in strengthening the legal regime of the Rome Statute that criminalises the most serious crimes under international law.

PGA members have made the following statements:

I deeply welcome the ratification of the Kampala Amendments by Belgium yesterday. As the first country from South America that has ratified both Kampala Amendments, I congratulate Belgium to help operationalize the aspirations to end aggression around the world as provided by the Rome Statute. This is in line with our commitment on the prohibition of the illegal use of force Sixty years after having ratified the London Agreements that provided the legal basis to the Nuremberg Tribunals. Dip. Felipe Michelini (Uruguay), Convenor of PGA Int’l Law and Human Rights Program

I celebrate Belgium’s ratification of the Kampala Amendments to the Rome Statute. This deposit arrives in a crucial moment when military conflicts of international and non-international character continue to threaten development in many regions of the globe. Indeed, European countries have first hand experience of the devastating consequences of the use of force and we have continously pledged for this not to happen again. Today we can make this pledge tangible through the ratification and implementation of the Kampala Amendments. I re-affirm the call to all other EU Member States to ratify and promote the Kampala Amendments. Dep. Alain Destexhe (Belgium)

I truly salute the ratification by Belgium of the Kampala Amendments, which sends a strong signal to the entire international community and is another step forward to allow for their entry into force. The PGA National Group in the DRC remains engaged against impunity for international crimes including the crime of aggression. And as our National Assembly is about to adopt a a full ICC implementing legislation, I would like to call on States to continue ratifying the Kampala Amendments as a commitment to strengthen the framework of the prohibition of the illegal use of force under the UN Charter and to ensure that all war crimes are not left unpunished, whether they would be committed in an international or non-international armed conflict, because all victims deserve the same level of protection, regardless of the rank of the perpetrator. Ratifying and implementing is the best way for States, and in particular vulnerable countries like mine, to protect themselves against those crimes and ensure that wrong doers are brought to justice. Hon. Dieudonné Upira, MP (Democratic Republic of the Congo)

About PGA

Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) is the largest transnational network of Members of Parliaments from all regions of the world who, in their individual capacity, support the effective operation of the ICC and domestic jurisdictions to end impunity.

Members of PGA have contributed to 76 of the 122 ratifications of, or accession to the Rome Statute to date. PGA is a member of the Steering Committee of the Coalition for the ICC. The PGA Campaign for the Universality and Effectiveness of the Rome Statute system receives support from the European Commission, European Union and the Governments of The Netherlands and Switzerland, as well as from Humanity United.

The PGA Complementarity Project in DRC, Uganda and Kenya is supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.