October 21, 2014 | The Hague/New York

On October 20-21st, a mission from the Kurdish Regional Government of Iraq has visited the International Criminal Court (ICC), other international legal institutions and relevant non state actors in The Hague. PGA has organized these meetings upon the request of one of its member MPs, Mr. Harry Van Bommel, in order to accurately transmit the mandate and modus operandi of the ICC to the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) of Iraq, with the ultimate goal of positively contributing to the Rome Statute ratification process in Iraq. Ratification by Iraq would mean an important advance in securing greater universality of the Rome Statute of the ICC.

In light of the mass-atrocities committed by ISIS/ISIL in the Kurdish region of Iraq, the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) of Iraq has established a High Commission for the investigation of the alleged crimes committed. The KRG Delegation has submitted evidence of possible genocide and other international crimes, including images, video-footage and eye-witness testimonies to the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the ICC during their visit in The Hague. As of today, however, the ICC does not have territorial jurisdiction concerning the whole situation of Iraq.

"We are looking into the Rome Statute of the ICC and we are requesting the help of our international friends to address the current needs for reconciliation and restoration of trust amongst different communities living in the Kurdish region and in Iraq as a whole, as well as the 1.5 million refugees coming from Syria and elsewhere in Iraq, whom we are currently helping in our region", said Falah Mustafa Bakir, Head of Department of Foreign Relations (Kurdish Regional Government of Iraq).

Iraq is one of the countries in the Middle East that has not yet become a State Party to the Rome Statute of the ICC. Therefore, the option of submitting an Article 12.3 Declaration to provide the Court with ad hoc jurisdiction was discussed during the visit as well. However, a ratification of the Rome Statute by Iraq would build an even stronger guarantee to avoid impunity for crimes against humanity such as those allegedly perpetrated in the last months by ISIS/ISIL.

“The ratification and implementation of the Rome Statute by Iraq would not only strengthen the national judicial system in dealing with massive violations of human rights, but may also lead other countries to follow suit, which would have an immediate positive effect and impact in the Middle East region”, said PGA Member, Mr. Harry Van Bommel, MP (The Netherlands). PGA has recently organized, on 15-16 October 2014, a Working Group of Parliamentarians for the Universality of the Rome Statute in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), hosted by the Parliament of Jordan in Amman.

The visit to the ICC included meetings with the President, Judge Sang-Hyun Song, the Registry, the Office of the Prosecutor and the Public Affairs Unit of the ICC. Furthermore, PGA arranged meetings for the Delegation with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Amnesty International, the Dutch Parliament and the PGA members of the European Parliament.

The KRG/Iraq Delegation consisted of Mahmood Salih Hama Karim, Minister for Martyrs and Anfal affairs, Muhammed Qader Muhammed, Minister of Social Affairs, Falah Mustafa Bakir, Head of Department of Foreign Relations, journalists and advisers. The Delegation was also accompanied by PGA member Harry Van Bommel Member of the Parliament of the Netherlands, Marieke van Doorn, Director of the International Law and Human Rights Program and Romina Morello, Program Officer for International Law and Human Rights.