Loading...








PGA’s vision is to contribute to the creation of a Rules-Based International Order for a more equitable, safe, sustainable and democratic world.

Nigeria and the Rome Statute

Nigeria signed the Rome Statute on 1 June 2000 and deposited its instrument of ratification of the Rome Statute on 27 September 2001.

Since 2002, PGA has been working with Nigerian MPs to promote the adoption of implementing legislation incorporating the crimes contained in the Rome Statute and ensuring mechanisms of cooperation with the ICC.

PGA launched its work in Nigeria starting with their participation at the 24th Annual Parliamentary Forum of PGA entitled "An informal Parliamentary Assembly for the International Criminal Court and the Promotion of the Rule of Law" that took place in Ottawa, Canada.

On 17 October 2003, PGA Member Senator Sanusi Daggash presented a Resolution ordering the Foreign Relations Commission of Nigeria’s Senate to investigate the nature of the agreements between Nigeria and the United States or any other country on ICC operations or competency. The resolution was presented after the attempts by Senator Daggash to obtain the public divulgation of the Bilateral executive Agreements of Non Surrender signed with the United States.

PGA Members from Nigeria have actively participated in PGA’s Consultative Assemblies of Parliamentarians for the ICC and the Rule of Law (CAP ICC) since its session in 2003.

Upon request of then PGA Member Ms. Martha Bodunrin ( former MP House of Representatives) at the ICC Assembly of States Parties in December 2011, PGA provided technical assistance to its members in drafting a comprehensive bill to implement the Rome Statute Crimes into Nigeria’s national legal system based on the Revised Commonwealth Model Law. This Bill had been presented by then PGA Member and MP Ms. Martha Bodunrin to the Speaker of Parliament, the Majority Speaker, and the Chairpersons of relevant Committees. The government then drafted a government bill to implement the Rome Statute, namely the “Crimes against Humanity, Genocide and Related Offences Bill 2012”. The efforts of PGA members led to the bill having passed the first reading in Senate. This Bill was further in the Second Reading in Senate (but had not passed the House yet) in May 2013 as “A Bill for an Act to Provide for the Enforcement and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity, War Crimes, Genocide and Related Offences and to Give Effect to Certain Provisions of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in Nigeria, 2013” (SB 183). The Bill has not moved further since then.
 
On June 12, 2014, PGA Members sent an Open Letter to the President of Nigeria that called on Ending Impunity for Boko Haram through the ICC. No reply was received.

PGA is in constant communications with its leading Member in the fight against impunity in Nigeria, but has not been able to understand until today what is blocking the draft Bill to implement the Rome Statute from moving to the third reading in Senate.

Kampala Amendments of 2010

  • Nigeria attended the Review Conference and joined the consensus to adopt the two Kampala Amendments.

  • Nigeria has not yet ratified the Amendments to the Rome Statute adopted by the 2010 Review Conference (Kampala Amendments) on the crime of aggression and on the use of certain weapons in armed conflict not of an international character.

Involvement of Nigerian MPs in PGA-ICC Related Actions

Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the Court (APIC)

Nigeria has yet to accede to the APIC.

Additional Agreements

  • As a member of the African, Caribbean and Pacific community (ACP), and as signatory of the revised Cotonou Agreement of the ACP with the European Union, Nigeria has recognized the importance of the ICC as a mechanism for peace and international justice, and has committed to promote the ratification and implementation of the Rome Statute, to seek to take steps towards the ratification and the implementation of the Rome Some Statute, and  to fight against international crime giving due regard to the Rome Statute. For more information on the work of PGA within the ACP-EU mechanism see, click here.

  • Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review: Nigeria was reviewed during the 17th session of the UPR in October 2013. No recommendations regarding ICC were made.

Recent Activity
Participation of Nigerian MPs in the CAP ICC
Resolutions
Official Documents
Related PGA Pages
External Resources

Status of the Rome Statute System as of February 2024:

 
States that have ratified the Rome Statute [124]
 
States that have signed the Rome Statute but have not ratified it yet [30]
 
States that have withdrawn from the Rome Statute [2]
 
States that have neither signed nor ratified the Rome Statute
 

124 countries are States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Of these, 33 are African States, 19 are Asia-Pacific States, 19 are from Eastern Europe, 28 are from Latin American and Caribbean States, and 25 are from Western European and other States.

Work of PGA in this Country:

June 2021 PGA Rome Statute Campaign Update

June 2021 PGA Rome Statute Campaign Update

This update focuses on obstacles PGA overcame and its successes during the first half of 2021 amid the limitations caused by the global pandemic, which compelled the Secretariat and Members to Adapt and Innovate more than ever.

Workshop on the Fight Against Impunity for Mass Atrocities under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and promotion of the Rule of Law

West African MPs Renew Their Commitment to the Fight Against Impunity

PGA co-organised with its National Group in Nigeria, a Workshop on the Fight Against Impunity for Mass Atrocities under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and promotion of the Rule of Law

Parliamentarians and experts met in Banjul to explore mechanisms designed to provide accountability for serious human rights violations and international crimes.

African Parliamentarians gather in Banjul to discuss accountability mechanisms for serious human rights violations and international crimes

On 3 and 4 July 2019, the National Assembly of the Gambia hosted over 40 participants, representing more than 15 African States, to participate in the Working Group on the Fight against Impunity in Africa.

Since its inception, PGA has been a staunch supporter of the International Criminal Court.

Official Opening of the ICC Permanent Premises

19 April 2016 marked the Official Opening of the ICC Permanent Premises, hosted by the ICC President, Judge Silvia Fernández, and H.E. Mr Sidiki Kaba, President of the Assembly of States Parties.

Parliamentarians from around the world gather in the Parliament of Rabat, Morocco, for the 8th Session of the Consultative Assembly of Parliamentarians for the ICC and the Rule of Law (CAP ICC).

Parliamentarians of the World Call on the International Criminal Court to Take Decisive Action to End Impunity for Mass Atrocities

Parliament of Morocco hosts 8th Consultative Assembly of Parliamentarians for the ICC and the Rule of Law in Rabat

PGA conducted a field mission in Yaoundé, Cameroon, in the framework of the PGA Campaign for the Universality and Effectiveness of the Rome Statute system

Consultations on the fight against impunity and the ratification of the Rome Statute by Cameroon

From 6 to 8 October, PGA conducted a field mission in Yaoundé, Cameroon, in the framework of the PGA Campaign for the Universality and Effectiveness of the Rome Statute system to generate political will for the fight against impunity

Dr. Jonathan has been President of Nigeria since May 2010.

Open Letter to President of Nigeria from PGA on Ending Impunity for Boko Haram through ICC

We are writing to you today in our capacity as the Members of the Executive Committee of PGA to express our heartfelt sympathies with the Nigerian people, for the terrible kidnapping and enslavement of over 200 Nigerian girls from a school in Chibok...

The Crime of Aggression is not only the supreme ’umbrella’ crime, but also a leadership crime - hence the great sensitivity surrounding it.

PGA Roundtable Briefing on the Crime of Aggression

This PGA Roundtable Briefing was held at the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations in New York and brought together PGA Member Legislators from Afghanistan, Argentina, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Senegal. The Round

The roundtable brought together over 100 participants, including parliamentary delegations from Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and the host country, Sierra Leone.

PGA Regional Roundtable Discussion on the Implementation of The Rome Statute

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.

Publication

Parliamentary Kit on the International Criminal Court
Parliamentary Kit on the International Criminal Court

Parliamentary Kit on the International Criminal Court

It is imperative that the Rome Statute be ratified universally for the successful functioning of the Court. Parliamentarians should ensure that the ICC is truly universal.

Description

Created by the Rome Statute, the International Criminal Court (ICC) is the first permanent and independent international court capable of investigating and bringing to justice individuals who commit the most serious violations of international criminal law, international humanitarian law, and human rights.

The Rome Statute defines the crimes under the Court’s jurisdiction and provides the general principles and procedures for the operation of the Court. It also outlines the cooperation obligations of its State Parties. It is imperative that the Rome Statute be ratified universally for the successful functioning of the Court. Parliamentarians should ensure that the ICC is truly universal.

PDF(s)

Additional Details

  • Publication Type: Toolkit
  • Author(s): Parliamentarians for Global Action

Publication

Handbook for Parliamentarians: National Nomination of Judicial Candidates for the International Criminal Court (ICC)
Handbook for Parliamentarians: National Nomination of Judicial Candidates for the International Criminal Court (ICC)

Handbook for Parliamentarians: National Nomination of Judicial Candidates for the International Criminal Court (ICC)

Description

The ICC is the first and only permanent independent court with the mandate to investigate and prosecute individuals responsible for committing international crimes, namely genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression. Its 18 judges from around the world, elected for a nine-year term, play a key role in ensuring this expectation is lived up to through their primary mandate to render authoritative and high-quality jurisprudence and guarantee fair trials.

Therefore, the quality of the judges has fundamental importance to the performance, efficiency, and effectiveness of the ICC, which is at the heart of the long-term success of the ICC and the Rome Statute system as a whole. In this handbook, PGA sets forth specific criteria and recommendations for Parliamentarians to encourage their governments to improve national nomination procedures for ICC judicial candidates and adopt good practices and requirements to ensure these processes are fair, transparent, and merit-based. The goal of robust nomination procedures is to ensure that only candidate judges or jurists of the highest caliber make it on the ballot.

PDF(s)

Additional Details

  • Publication Type: Handbook
  • Author(s): Parliamentarians for Global Action

Publication

Handbook: Ratification and Implementation of the Kampala Amendments on the Crime of Aggression to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
Handbook: Ratification and Implementation of the Kampala Amendments on the Crime of Aggression to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court

Handbook: Ratification and Implementation of the Kampala Amendments on the Crime of Aggression to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court

Description

It is our honor and privilege to present to you the Third Edition of the Handbook on the Ratification and Implementation of the Kampala Amendments on the Crime of Aggression to the Rome Statute of the ICC.

It is the product of our collaborative effort aimed at assisting States in ratifying the amendments adopted by consensus in Kampala and helping criminalize the most serious forms of the illegal use of force.

PDF(s)

Additional Details

  • Publication Type: Handbook
  • Author(s): Permanent Mission of the Principality of Liechtenstein to the United Nations; Global Institute for the Prevention of Aggression; Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination at Princeton University (LISD); (Drafting Assistance by PGA)