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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.

Paraguay and the Rome Statute

PGA has been working with Paraguayan Legislators since the year 2000, when the leading PGA Senator from Paraguay played a pro-active role in the process that led to assess the constitutional compatibility of the Rome Statute and its ratification. PGA continues to work with Members of Parliament in Paraguay.

Rome Statute

Paraguay signed the Rome Statute on 7 October 1998 and deposited its instrument of ratification on 14 May 2001.

Kampala Amendments of 2010

After a delegation of Paraguay attended the Review Conference and joined the consensus to adopt the Kampala Amendments, in August 2013 the Government of Paraguay sent a Bill to the Chamber of Deputies to consider the ratification of the Kampala Amendments.

Status on the domestic implementation of the Rome Statute

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Paraguay drafted a Bill for the implementation of the Rome Statute, including cooperation and complementarity issues in December 2012. The bill is now under consideration in the Legislation Committee of the Senate of Paraguay.

For more information click here. (in Spanish).

Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the Court (APIC)

Paraguay signed the APIC on 11 February 2004 and ratified it on 19 July 2005.

ICC Process and PGA Action

In 2009, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it was drafting a Bill to implement the Rome Statute. After some years, in 2011 PGA members together with civil society requested the government to table the bill to parliament, act that took place in 2012.

Since that moment, the bill has been under discussion in the Legislation Committee. PGA, together with other organizations from civil society sent a comment on the bill requesting the inclusion of some elements to allow the full implementation of the Rome Statute into the national legislation. PGA member, Senator Fernando Siva Facetti, thanked them and included most of the points in his statements and request for additions and deletions in the committee discussions.

In October 2000, Members of the Parliament of Paraguay joined the Campaign for the Rome Statute of the ICC on the occasion of the Latin American Parliamentary Conference on the Ratification and Implementation of the Rome Statute hosted by the Senate of Argentina in Buenos Aires. Senator José Félix Fernández Estigarribia, Vice-President of the Foreign Relations Committee and member of PGA highlighted the reason why Paraguay had to join the Rome Statute system, namely: The interest of a small country like Paraguay to reinforce its sovereignty through its participation in international institutions intended to defend principles of human rights and the Rule of Law, which are the foundation of the Paraguayan National legal order itself. The PGA Buenos Aires Conference welcomed the transmission of the ICC Statute to Parliament by Paraguayan President Gonzales Macchi and the consequent unanimous approval in the Foreign Relations Committee, in which Sen. Estigarribia played a crucial role as “Miembro Informante” on the Court. As the ICC ratification bill was pending – as of October 2000 – before the Senate’s Constitutional Affairs and the Legislation Committees, where some Constitutional compatibility questions had been posed, the PGA Conference called for a prompt resolution of these challenges on the basis of the PGA Conference-paper presented by Prof. Dr. Felix Lavinia (MP, Uruguay). In light of the principles supporting international co-operation and universal human rights contained in articles 143, 145 et alia of the National Constitution, the Conference agreed that the ICC Statute should be considered fully in accordance with the Paraguayan legal system. It was therefore recommended that the Senate Commissions and Plenary could approve the ICC ratification bill by mid-December 2000, when the Congress would have started its summer recess.

The consistent advocacy action of Senator José Félix Fernández Estigarribia contributed to accomplish this pivotal result.

Organization of American States

As a member of the Organization of American States, Paraguay has supported the promotion of the International Criminal Court through the adoption of an annual resolution by the General Assembly of the OAS, as well as by the holding of an annual working meeting of high level within the Political and Juridical Affairs Committee of the OAS. PGA members have been invited at numerous occasions to this meeting. For more information on the work of PGA within the OAS, click here.

Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review

Paraguay will be reviewed in the 24th session of the UPR in 2016. It accepted the 2011 recommendation of Australia to implement the Rome Statute.


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:

Looking Ahead: PGA Member Hon. Hryhoriy Nemyria, MP (Ukraine) addressed the 18th Assembly of States Parties, committing Ukraine to ratify the Rome Statute in 2020.

As 2019 comes to a close, we at Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) look back at a year that saw impressive gains in the fight against impunity, but also some setbacks.

PGA Member Diputado Clemente Barrios and Parliamentary Liaison of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Celerino Valdez Peralta, before meeting between Dip. Barrios and Minister Loizaga.

Dip. Clemente Barrios presented the latest developments concerning the adoption on 16 August 2017 of Law 5877/17 to the Minister of Foreign AFfairs.

Plenary of the Chamber of Deputies Paraguay

The Chamber of Deputies of Paraguay unanimously approved the draft implementing legislation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The visit conducted by the high-level Delegations was particularly conducive to strengthening the cooperation of Argentina and Paraguay with the ICC and clarifying relevant matters and questions.

Between 18 and 25 November 2016, the PGA high-level Delegations from Argentina and Paraguay visited The Hague in order to participate at the Assembly of State Parties to the International Criminal Court.

PGA Member, Dip. Clemente Barrios (Paraguay)

The Chamber of Deputies has unanimously adopted comprehensive implementing legislation

From left to right – Dip. Clemente Barrios, PGA Member, Abg. Ever Martínez, Minister of Justice of Paraguay, Dip. Juan Félix Bogado, PGA Member.

PGA Members from Paraguay discuss Voluntary Cooperation Agreements with Minister of Justice.

This seminar aimed to provide a space in which legislators and other stakeholders could exchange views on progress made and challenges that remain regarding the full implementation of the principles and crimes of the Rome Statute.

On 28-29 September 2016, in the framework of its Parliamentary Campaign for the Effectiveness and Universality of the Rome Statute, Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) organized a Parliamentary Seminar.

The leadership of Dip. Clemente Barrios, Member of PGA  and that of Dip. Bogado Tatter, Member of PGA, fostered a propitious momentum for the full implementation of the Rome Statute in Paraguay.

The Senate of Paraguay has approved the draft implementing legislation sent by the Executive, on 7 January 2013.

Paraguayan Legislators commit to full implementation of the Rome Statute and ratification of the Kampala Amendments

On 7 July 2016, Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) organized Consultations on the Implementation of the Rome Statute and Support to the Court, hosted by the House of Deputies of Paraguay.

Dip. Juan Félix Bogado Tatter, Member of PGA

On 7 July 2016, PGA held Consultations on the Implementation of the Rome Statute and Support to the ICC, hosted by the House of Deputies of Paraguay.

Paraguayan Legislators commit to full implementation of the Rome Statute and ratification of the Kampala Amendments

On 7 July 2016, in the framework of its Parliamentary Campaign for the Effectiveness and Universality of the Rome Statute, Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) organized Consultations on the Implementation of the Rome Statute and Support to the Court.

July 6, 2016, Asuncion, Paraguay

A PGA delegation met with the Deputy Minister of Justice and the Representative for International Organizations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of paraguay to discuss the ratification of the Kampala Amendments and the voluntary agreements with the ICC.

Photo courtesy of Chamber of Deputies, Uruguay

Parliamentary Seminar and a Technical Workshop in the framework of the Campaign for the Rome Statute of the ICC for the Effectiveness of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court

The public hearings of the ’Operation Condor’ Trial took place in the Aula Bunker of the High Court of Rome’s Penal Tribunal in Rebibbia.

On 9 and 10 July 2015, the Secretary-General of Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA), Dr. David Donat-Cattin, attended the public hearings of the ’Operation Condor’ Trial in the Aula Bunker of the High Court of Rome’s Penal Tribunal in Reb

Parliamentarians from Latin America at the Chamber of Representatives of Uruguay in Montevideo, PGA Parliamentary Seminar and technical Workshop

The intense activities and discussions brought together over 25 Parliamentarians from 12 different Latin American States.

The discussions brought together over 20 Parliamentarians from 10 different Latin American States, such as Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, México, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.

In September 2013, PGA organized a Parliamentary Seminar and a technical Roundtable in the framework of a Sub-Regional Working Group on Challenges for the Effectiveness of the Rome Statute system in the Americas.

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)