The Rome Statute System Campaign opened the year by co-organizing a webinar entitled “Increasing the Legitimacy of International Law: The Role of Parliament” with the International Law Association (ILA). The event, which took place on 12 January, brought together parliamentarians, academics, and experts to address challenges facing international law. Negotiations and drafting of international instruments are often handled by the executive branch alone, limiting the role of parliamentarians to the ratification and implementation of the texts, which in turn risks diluting the instrument’s original intent. To democratize and legitimize international law, a closer collaboration that includes parliamentarians is needed, along with increased training in understanding international law for better legislation and compliance.

On 9 February, the first 2023 strategic meeting of the PGA United Nations (UN) Advisory Committee, generously hosted by the Permanent Mission of Liechtenstein to the UN, convened UN Ambassadors and officials to discuss pressing global issues. The gathering notably focused on the alarming deterioration of the human rights and humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and the serious life threats faced by opponents of the de facto authorities. Given the deep multidimensional crisis in which the country finds itself, PGA recalled the importance of following key recommendations reflecting Afghan voices and other experts’ guidelines, which include the necessity to keep the situation in Afghanistan as a top priority on the international agenda.

The discussion also delved into the imperative of accountability in the ongoing war in Ukraine. Participants engaged in reflective discussions on viable avenues to prosecute the crime of aggression, including establishing a Special Tribunal through a UN General Assembly Resolution. In addition, participants stressed the importance of ratifying the Kampala amendments to the Rome Statute and aligning the ICC’s jurisdictional regime on the crime of aggression with the other core crimes under the Rome Statute, as detailed in PGA’s proposal. The ICC’s limited jurisdiction over the crime of aggression (requiring acceptance by both the aggressor and victim State or a UN Security Council referral) has garnered more attention since Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine. Affirming individual criminal responsibility for aggression is crucial to any accountability efforts, and leaders involved must be prosecuted in a timely manner. To complement other initiatives and avenues to achieve prosecution of the crime of aggression committed in and against Ukraine through domestic jurisdictions or by establishing a Special Criminal Tribunal for Ukraine, PGA strongly believes that long-term and sustainable accountability must be addressed by the ICC, the only permanent court with potentially universal jurisdiction over the most serious international crimes.

Discussions over prosecuting the crime of aggression are of utmost importance, especially as we commemorated the one year of aggression against Ukraine on 24 February. On this day, PGA published a statementto reiterate its condemnation of this illegal war and to applaud the incredible resilience and courage of Ukrainians in the face of the horror of atrocities and immense suffering. The war of aggression against Ukraine is primarily an aggression against its civilians, causing global consequences on the international order but also the economy, environment, and food security. As 2023 marks the 25^th anniversary of the adoption of the Rome Statute of the ICC, PGA reiterates its call on Ukraine and other non-party States worldwide to ratify the Rome Statute and its amendments, including the Kampala amendment on the crime of aggression and to implement them domestically fully.

PGA also expressed enthusiasm for Uruguay’s ratification of all amendments to the Rome Statute on war crimes, completed on 21 March. These amendments not only criminalize the use of starvation as a method of war in Non-International Armed Conflicts (NIAC) but also align the list of prohibited weapons in NIAC with the list applicable to International Armed Conflicts under the Rome Statute. This achievement followed an initiative launched by PGA members in 2020.

On 17 April, PGA saw with great concern that Russian opposition activist and journalist Mr. Vladimir Kara-Murza, a vocal critic of President Putin’s regime, received a 25-year sentence in a high-security penal colony. Moscow court judges deemed him guilty of treason, spreading “false” information about the Russian army, and association with an “undesirable organization.” PGA expressed its unwavering solidarity and support for Mr. Kara-Murza and his family and vehemently condemned the politically motivated conviction based on fabricated charges, along with the unjust sentence for his criticism of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. In recognition of his unwavering dedication to human rights advocacy, fearless criticism of repressive policies, corruption, and war of aggression against Ukraine, as well as for his leading advocacy for freedom and the voiceless, Mr. Kara-Murza was honored with the 2022 Democracy Defender Award by PGA’s Board on November 4, 2022.

An essential part of the work PGA carries out under the umbrella of the Rome Statute System Campaign is to focus on fostering cooperation, complementarity, and universality. In this regard, PGA celebrated on 26 May the adoption of the Mutual Legal Assistance Convention, also known as the Ljubljana-The Hague Convention. This significant international treaty is a crucial tool to deliver justice to victims of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and other international offenses. Its adoption marks a historic opportunity to enhance global legal cooperation, improve domestic proceedings, and align efforts with the principle of complementarity. The Ljubljana-The Hague MLA Convention was unanimously adopted during the 18^th Plenary Session of the MLA Diplomatic Conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia, during which over 70 States, international organizations, and civil society organizations, including PGA, participated in the independent process originally initiated by Argentina, Belgium, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Mongolia, and Senegal in 2011. PGA seized this vital occasion to call on all States to sign and ratify the Convention without reservations. For PGA’s critical reflections on the Convention, see the blog contribution by the Director of the Program, Ms. Frederika Schweighoferova.

This first semester culminated with a gathering of parliamentarians from the African, Caribbean, and Pacific States and the European Union (ACP-EU) on the occasion of the 43^rd plenary session of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly. On 27 June, the PGA Group in the European Parliament hosted a lunch meeting to demystify the ICC. Distinguished experts, civil society representatives, and parliamentarians from the Central African Republic, the European Parliament, Ghana, Italy, Malawi, Namibia, Niger, and Suriname engaged in an open dialogue detailing crucial aspects related to the ICC and emphasized the significance of universal accountability in the pursuit of justice and sustainable peace. The discussion allowed participants to call “leaders to lead by example,” urging countries worldwide for more consistency between words and actions.

During its 22nd session in December 2023, the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) of the ICC will elect six judges to occupy one-third of the 18 judicial seats for a non-renewable term of 9 years (2024-2033).

Since the beginning of its Campaign, PGA has emphasized the significance of nominating highly qualified judges. The latter plays a crucial role in upholding accountability for the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole, as outlined in the Rome Statute, but also in ensuring the ICC’s performance, efficiency, and effectiveness.

The Rome Statute’s legal framework provides that judicial candidates to the ICC “shall be chosen from among persons of high moral character, impartiality, and integrity who possess the qualifications required in their respective States for appointment to the highest judicial office.”

However, political considerations arising during the national nomination phase, in which formal processes are often inadequate, have compromised the transparency of the process. To ensure that ICC judges are of the highest caliber, it is therefore crucial that States Parties establish transparent and merit-based domestic nomination procedures. This means guaranteeing that only the most qualified candidates are nominated by States for the ICC judicial elections.

To address these issues, PGA developed a Handbook for Parliamentarians, presenting specific criteria and recommendations. The objective is to raise awareness and engage parliamentarians worldwide in advocating for governments to enhance national nomination procedures for ICC judicial candidates, embrace fair and transparent practices, and establish requirements prioritizing merits. Robust nomination procedures are essential to ensure that only judges and jurists of the highest caliber are considered for the ballot.