What is the Assembly of States Parties of the International Criminal Court (ASP)?
As a treaty-based institution, the International Criminal Court (ICC) benefits from having the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) as a management oversight and legislative body, which consists of one representative from each State Party.
The ASP works throughout the year by the way of its Bureau, Presidency and Working Groups. The ASP also meets annually, either at New York or The Hague, to take the most important decisions concerning amendments to the Rules of Procedure, the elections of officials, the appropriation of the budget of the ICC, and other related matters concerning the role of the States, such as cooperation and complementarity. This event is also pivotal for civil society and experts on the fight against impunity to monitor the dealings of States with the ICC.
PGA’s Work
Throughout the year: PGA collaborates closely with the Presidency of the ASP, and its Bureau and facilitators, to support their mandate by for instance (i) organizing events and activities promoting the universality of the Rome Statute; (ii) directly cooperating with the ASP President, including providing input on the ICC target countries on Universality (iii) inviting the President to address PGA events and (iv) submitting reports to the ASP Bureau on complementarity and cooperation.
In the framework of the ASP annual sessions:
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PGA’s Secretariat and PGA members actively follow and participate in the ASP sessions to share information and coordinate with the other actors to promote the goals of the Campaign for the Rome Statute of the ICC.
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Through the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC), PGA provides input gathered from its members on key issues on the agenda of the ASP, and pursues an advocacy line to ensure that the ASP fulfil its role in promoting the universality, effectiveness and integrity of the Rome Statute.
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PGA members are recurrent speakers during the general debate and selected events of the ASP.
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PGA organizes and participates in side-events to convene necessary debate on pressing issues.
