January 18, 2008 | Freetown, Sierra Leone

Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) organised a Regional Round-Table Discussion on the Implementation of The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in the Parliament of Sierra Leone in Freetown.

The roundtable brought together over 100 participants, including parliamentary delegations from Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and the host country, Sierra Leone, along with representatives of the Government and the civil society of Sierra Leone, experts from international entities based in Freetown, including the Registrar of the Special Court for Sierra Leone and the Head of the EU Delegation in Freetown. This initiative was made possible by the support of the European Commission and the Governments of The Netherlands and Switzerland to the Campaign for the Rome Statute of the ICC.

The Roundtable was preceded on 17 January, 2008 by a courtesy visit of the PGA delegation with the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, H.E. Mr. Ernest Bai Koroma, a former Parliamentarian and active member of the PGA network. In this former capacity, the President attended the PGA Consultative Assembly of Parliamentarians for the ICC & the Rule of Law held at the UN in New Yorkin September 2003.  

President Koroma reaffirmed the strong commitment of the Government of Sierra Leone to implement effectively the Rome Statute of the ICC in its domestic legal order. The same commitment was reiterated at the Roundtable Discussion by the Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Justice Abel N. B. Stronge, and by the Attorney General & Minister for Justice of Sierra Leone, Hon. Abdul Serry-Kamal, who communicated that he is considering and reviewing a draft Bill that will require approval by the Cabinet before its transmission to Parliament at the appropriate time..  

The PGA Sierra Leone National Group, represented by Dr. Bernadette Lahai, MP (opposition), welcomed the Government position and urged that a decision be taken as soon as possible, so that the appropriate legislation may be passed during 2008. The same position was taken by the Sierra Leonean human rights group "Manifesto 99" through the able intervention of its Chairperson, Mr. Abdulrahim Kamara.

All the Sierra Leonean authorities who spoke at the Roundtable, including the Chief Justice Dr. Ade Renner-Thomas, the Anti-Corruption Commissioner Abdul Tejan-Cole, and the Deputy Permanent Representative at the UN, Ambassador Allieu Ibrahim Kanu, emphasised the preventative character of the ICC against the repetition of gross human rights abuses and that were very similar in this respect to those that fall under the jurisdiction of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, represented at the Freetown PGA event by its Registrar Mr. Herman von Hebel, former delegate of The Netherlands in the UN Preparatory Commission for the ICC.

The leader of the opposition of Ghana, Hon. Alban Bagbin, MP, member of PGA, recalled the essential role played by PGA in the process that led Ghana to become the fifth State Party to the Rome Statute in 1999. He denounced the current lack of political will concerning implementing legislation, in respect of which a draft Bill had been prepared by the Attorney General offices in 2001/02 without any subsequent consideration and deliberation by the Executive and the Legislature. Mr. Bagbin recognised the timeliness of the Freetown meeting and committed to include the ICC in his agenda for the "things-to-do" for the Government that could emerge from the 2008 elections in Ghana.

The representative of the PGA Nigerian National Group, Sen. Sulinam Adokwe, reconstructed all the events that preceded and followed Nigeria's ratification of the Rome Statute in 2001. In particular, he recalled that on 19 May 2005, the Senate adopted the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (Ratification and Jurisdiction) Bill 2003, which was also approved by the House of Representatives in early 2006. However, the former President of the Republic did not sign it into law. Senator Adokwe stressed that the Senate of Nigeria may urgently adopt a resolution requesting the President to promulgate the law, which would be sufficient to incorporate the Rome Statute crimes and general principles into Nigerian Law. A separate Bill on cooperation with the Court will be needed to complete the implementing legislation process.

A multi-party Liberian PGA delegation affirmed strong commitment to launch the process of national implementing legislation in Liberia, a country that recently emerged from conflict. Hon. Varforay Kamara, MP (opposition), Co-Chair of the Judiciary Committee, underscored the importance of the ongoing fight against impunity in Liberia and the need to ensure conformity of National Laws with the Rome Statute, also to fulfil the requirements of the Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement. Notwithstanding capacity constraints, the PGA Liberia National Group - also represented by the other Co-Chair of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, Dr. Bhofa Chambers, MP (majority), is determined to ensure respect of Liberia's international obligations and implement the Rome Statute.

The meeting was closed by a statement of PGA Executive Committee Member Hon. Ibrahim Sorie, MP (majority, Sierra Leone), who urged all Parliamentarians attending the Roundtable to take action at National and regional level to support international justice and contribute to achieve tangible results in the fight against impunity. At the conclusion of the meeting, Members took the opportunity to adopt a Statement on the current Situation in Kenya, appended to this Summary of Proceedings below.