August 04, 2014 | Montevideo/The Hague/New York
Judge Sang Hyun Song, President of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the context of his participation in the 85º ordinary period of session of the Inter-American Juridical Committee of the OEA which will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has travelled to Montevideo, Uruguay in order to sign an Exchange of Letters between the ICC and the Parliament of the MERCOSUR (PARLASUR) for the establishment of a framework agreement which sets the basis for cooperation between the ICC and the PARLASUR.
The agreement in question envisages cooperation for the promotion and dissemination of international criminal law as well as the principles, values and provisions of the Rome Statute and related documents. Additionally, the agreement includes provisions on public and political support from PARLASUR to the Parliaments of Mercosur in order to implement the Rome Statute in their domestic legislations, including cooperation laws with the ICC and agreements with ICC on enforcement of sentences, relocation of witnesses, interim release and exchange of information and documentation.
This agreement is part of the result envisaged in a Strategy set by Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA), with the support of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC), to enhance Cooperation between MERCOSUR and ICC. As an action within this Strategy, on 12 May 2014, a delegation of PGA integrated by Dip. Felipe Michelini, PGA’s Executive Committee member and Convenor of the International Law and Human Rights Program of PGA, and Dip. Berta Sanseverino, President of the National Group of PGA in Uruguay, was welcomed by the Board of the MERCOSUR Parliament. In this occasion, the PGA members gave a concise and substantial presentation by which they invited the MERCOSUR Parliament to develop activities to cooperate with the ICC. Dip. Michelini offered PGA´s technical assistance and encouraged PARLASUR to work in different areas, such as:
- Signature of an Agreement/Exchange of letters on Cooperation and Technical Assistance with the ICC in the fight against impunity.
- The adoption of a Reference Cooperation Law that can be taken into consideration by the national parliaments of the Member States of MERCOSUR when they draft and/or interpret national legislation that sets a cooperation mechanism with the ICC.
- The adoption of a Resolution stating that Parlasur MPs should promote the implementation of the Rome Statute, specifically by adopting cooperation laws and by encouraging their governments to sign Ad hoc agreements with the ICC, as well as promote the ratification and implementation of the Kampala Amendments in their respective countries, taking as a reference the PARLATINO Resolution regarding the ICC and amendments of Kamapala presented by a PGA member Dip. Alfaro Zamora as well as the European parliament resolution adopted the past 17 July 2014 presented by PGA members MEP Barbara Lochbhiler and Helmut Scholz.
After the above mentioned meeting with the Executive Board of the PARLASUR and in the margins of a high level Seminar on cooperation with the ICC held on 20 and 21 May 2014, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on May 21 2014, PGA facilitated an Official Meeting of MERCOSUR Parliament representatives and the Registrar of the ICC regarding ways to enhance cooperation between the two organizations. Mr. Herman von Hebel, Registrar of the ICC, Dip. Felipe Michelini on behalf of the Speaker of Parlasur and Dip. Guillermo Ramón Carmona form Argentina, Member of PARLASUR, attended this very important meeting, where it was agreed that both organizations share the same values and that full cooperation is fundamental in order to achieve common goals, such as the protection of human rights. The necessity of establishing focal points in each organization, the ICC and the MERCOSUR Parliament and most importantly, to have an official exchange of letters was discussed in such meeting. The signature of the Exchange of Letters is what brings Judge Song to Montevideo today.
Upon PGA Secretariat’s facilitation, an Official meeting between Judge Song and the High General Representative of the MERCOSUR, Mr. Ramallo, where further ways of cooperation among both organizations will be discussed, will take place today.
About PGA
Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) is the largest transnational network of Members of Parliaments from all regions of the world who, in their individual capacity, support the effective operation of the ICC and domestic jurisdictions to end impunity. The PGA network is supported by a small secretariat that facilitates the cooperation and exchange by member MPs to achieve these goals and provides technical assistance regarding legal advice and project management. The PGA Complementarity Project for the DRC and Uganda receives the support of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Members of PGA have contributed to 76 of the 122 ratifications of, or accession to the Rome Statute to date. PGA is a member of the Steering Committee of the Coalition for the ICC. The PGA Campaign for the Universality and Effectiveness of the Rome Statute system receives support from the European Commission, European Union and the Governments of The Netherlands, Switzerland, and Estonia, as well as from Humanity United. In addition PGA benefits form the core funding form SIDA, DANIDA and Liechtenstein.