Recognising the unique context of the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) region, PGA convened the first regional meeting of the MENA Working Group against Impunity in July 2020 to enable Legislators, working mainly in North African states, to learn, exchange, and strategise with peers. On 31 March 2021, PGA convened the second part of the 8th session of the Working Group to foster discussion on the fight against impunity and the strengthening of the Rule of Law mostly in Middle Eastern states. The event was held online due to the restrictions imposed on in-person gatherings and international travel by the global health emergency of Sars-Cov-2.
Working Group moderated by Lord Jeremy Purvis of Tweed from the United Kingdom, counted on the active participation of Parliamentarians from Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, and Yemen, senior parliamentary advisers from Iraq, international law practitioners, academics, and Members of the PGA Secretariat. The event dealt with two topics, namely the fight against impunity at the national, regional, and international level and the implementation of international crimes in national legal system to strengthen the rule of Law. A final segment was dedicated on Strategies to advance the fight against impunity for atrocity crimes in the MENA region.
In the first panel, Mr Rod Rastan, Acting Head, Preliminary Examination Section, Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court, stressed the importance of promoting the universality of the Rome Statute. Only a widespread membership could offer the opportunity to the Court to investigate all cases of mass atrocities, and to avoid being dependent on the political decision-making by the UN Security Council in referring situations to the jurisdiction of the ICC. In that regard, he recalled that the Court has been actively engaged in the MENA region, including in Libya and Sudan – based on relevant Security Council referrals - as well as in Palestine – based on the ratification of the Rome Statute and acceptance of ad hoc jurisdiction. The OTP has also been carefully evaluating patterns of crimes that may be attributable to the individual criminal responsibility of nationals of States Parties to the Rome Statute (e.g., European, Jordanian, Maldivian, and Tunisian members of “Daesh”) and may be partly committed in the territory of a State Party (i.e., deportation of Syrians to the territories of Jordan as a crime against humanity, in line with the Myanmar/Bangladesh precedent). Mr Rastan underscored that Parliamentarians have the responsibility to exercise their sovereign prerogative and to join the Rome Statute to support the Court in the fulfilment of its mandate.,
Ms Nada Kiswanson van Hooydonk, Legal Representative of victims in the situation of Palestine, who represented victims across the Palestinian territory, discussed the recent decision on jurisdiction concerning the situation of Palestine. Ms Kiswanson van Hooydonk underlined that while litigation before the Court encouraged the peaceful and judicial settlement of a contentious legal dispute, the process was cumbersome and lengthy. She recalled that it took more than 5 years for the Office of the Prosecutor to initiate the investigation of the situation of Palestine. She took that opportunity to call on the international community, including States from the MENA region, to fully cooperate with the Office of the Prosecutor.
In her intervention from the floor, Hon Sahar Al Qawasmi, MP (Palestine) raised concerns regarding the universality of the Rome Statute and wondered what could be done by Parliamentarians to engage with States in joining the ICC, especially when important powers were threatening the institution. Hon Mr Abdualmoez Dbwan, MP (Yemen) further asked what strategies could be used by Parliamentarians to help facilitate the ICC’s involvement in the jurisdiction of States which, like Yemen, have not yet ratified the Statute. While recognizing these difficulties, both experts raised that the Court could eventually exercise jurisdiction retrospectively over crimes committed in Yemen (since July 2002) should Yemen decide to accept the Court’s jurisdiction under Art. 12(3) of the Statute, as Palestine, Ukraine and other States did. Mr Rastan stressed that the OTP was currently examining a communication related to the export of arms in Yemen by nationals of certain European States Parties to the Rome Statute. Mr Rastan further stressed that the OTP was standing ready to fulfil its mandate and to investigate alleged mass atrocities committed in all situations falling under the jurisdiction of the Court, but that unfortunately the resources of the Court were limited.
The second panel opened with Hon Wafa Bani Mustafa, former MP (Jordan) and Chair of the Coalition of Women MPs from Arab Countries to Combat Violence Against Women, addressing the case of Jordan which ratified the Rome Statute in 2002, but has yet to domestically implement its provisions, despite a 2007 draft Implementing Legislation. Hon Bani Mustafa urged Parliamentarians to use their power to ensure the comprehensive implementation of the Rome Statute within their domestic system, which should include the criminalization of all crimes of sexual and gender-based violence amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity. Hon. Bani Mustafa further stressed that the criminalization of these crimes would foster prevention and deterrence in the future. By implementing the Rome Statute within its domestic framework, Jordan would join law-abiding states and would restore confidence of victims in the judiciary. Ms Melissa Verpile, PGA Senior Legal Officer then offered concrete strategies to support Parliamentarians in advancing the fight against impunity for international crimes in the region. Recalling the extreme gravity of international crimes, she stressed the importance of strengthening national legislative systems through the implementation of the provisions of the Rome Statute in domestic legislation. Ms Verpile also proposed other legal avenues, including universal jurisdiction – with specific references to recent cases against a Syrian Government official in Germany and a Liberian war-lord in Finland - and the International Court of Justice – with reference to the Gambia v. Myanmar case based on the genocide convention –, as well as the use of mechanisms that could potentially assist with future legal proceedings to hold alleged perpetrators accountable, such as the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) in Syria and the appropriate use of targeted (economic) sanctions.
Finally, Professor Leila Sadat, James Carr Professor of International Criminal Law at Washington University School of Law addressed the Working Group underscoring the independence of the Court and its commitment to conduct its mandate without fear or favour despite political obstruction and threats. She urged States to view the Court as a shield that can protect their territory and encourage individuals to refrain from committing mass atrocities. Prof. Sadat made references to imminent changes in US policy concerning the ICC and paid a tribute to Prof. Cherif Bassiouni, an Egyptian-American scholar who played a fundamental role in the progressive development and codification of International Criminal Law.
Dr David Donat Cattin, PGA Secretary-General, stressed how PGA was looking forward to work with States from the region, including Iraq – where all communities in the civilian population have been victimized by multiple waves of atrocities crimes in the last decades –, and to continue the efforts that were initiated by Mr Faig Sheikh Ali, MP (Iraq) to ratify the Rome Statute. This meeting helped to reopen the dialogue towards a national consensus on the imperative to fight impunity and bring a measure of reparative justice to Iraqi victims of mass atrocities. As Lord Purvis of Tweed underscored that 123 States have already made the sovereign and free decision to join the Rome Statute system against impunity, Dr Donat Cattin stated that the vision of PGA is to fulfil the Nuremberg promise of extending the equal application of International Law to all territories and individuals: in this respect, efforts towards universality and full implementation of the Rome Statute represent the most significant progress towards this objective.
Following this event, PGA will continue to support the domestic implementation of the Rome Statute in the domestic legislation of Jordan and other countries in the MENA region in which Parliamentarians will decide to take action. PGA will also continue to work with its Members, other concerned Lawmakers, and relevant stakeholders to promote the universality of the Rome Statute, including the ratification by Yemen and Iraq as one of the guarantees of non-repetition of the atrocities of the present and the recent past, as well as to ensure that victims will have access to credible processes of justice, truth, and reconciliation, which are necessary tools towards durable peace.
