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

Cook Islands and the Rome Statute

Government type:

Self-governing under Constitution, in free association with New Zealand: Cook Islands is responsible for internal affairs; New Zealand has responsibility for external affairs, in consultation with the Cook Islands

Objectives:

  • Implementation of the Rome Statute

  • Ratification of Kampala Amendments

  • Accession to APIC

  • Signing of Voluntary agreements on cooperation with the ICC

Status

  • Rome Statute: Ratified on 18 July 2008

  • APIC: Did not ratify

  • BNSA: None

  • Amendments to the RS: None

  • Voluntary Agreements with the ICC: none

Status of Implementation of the Rome Statute

On the basis of the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Model Law, the Cook Islands has developed an ICC Bill with the help of the Commonwealth Secretariat.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has provided comment on the Bill in an attempt to make it a better fit for the situation of the Cook Islands. However, not development has been known.

Background

Min Wilkie Rasmussen, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, as the then co-President of the ACP-EU parliamentary Assembly, concretized the ratification of the ICC within 3 months after attending the 15th session of the Africa-Caribbean-Pacific—European Union Joint Parliamentary Assembly on the ICC organized in Slovenia on 17 March 2008. The session on the ICC was initiated by the PGA member from the European Parliament, Mr. Jo Leinen, MEP. The ICC OTP was represented by Mrs. Olivia Swaak Goldamn.

Potential obstacles towards full implementation of the Rome Statute

During the ICC Pacific Outreach Roundtable (held in Sydney, Australia, in 2012), it was concluded that the Cook Islands’ difficultly was the absence of a legislative drafter, although the New Zealand Parliamentary Counsel’s Office has dedicated one of their staff to the Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau for three years.

In her capacity as Acting Solicitor-General, Ms Catherine Evans, identified 30 draft bills and has attempted to have government prioritise and finalise them for submission to Cabinet. The challenge in that period was to have priority accorded to the ICC Bill, as it was one of many waiting for the legislature’s consideration. The assessment in 2012 was that this process might move forward in the year or two that followed. Furthermore, the absence of the legislative programme in the Cook Islands has proved to pose a difficulty to be precise with timing- e.g. in 2010, there w

PGA ACTIVITIES

PGA has been actively engaged in promoting political will in The Cook Islands to accede to the Rome Statute of the ICC. The organization held a Regional Workshop on Good Governance and the Rule of Law in Samoa in March 2008 which included a specific panel on ICC Implementation in the Pacific Island States and challenges currently being faced. The then Speaker of the Parliament of the Cook Island, Mr. Mapu Taia participated in this PGA Regional Seminar.

Press Statement

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:

The ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly has been, since the establishment of the International Criminal Court, a forum for political support to the recognition of the important development for peace and international justice.

African, Caribbean and Pacific-European Union Joint Parliamentary Assembly

The ACP–EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly was created to bring together the members of the European Parliament and the elected representatives of the ACP countries that have signed the Cotonou Agreement.

At the end of the Workshop, all participating MPs agreed on a Plan of Action, reflecting their fruitful discussions, and as a useful tool for follow-up action.

PGA Workshop on Enhancing Good Governance and the Rule of Law in the Pacific Islands

The Workshop saw the active participation of 18 legislators from the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Niue, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, in addition to MPs from New Zealand and Sweden.

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)