New York/The Hague, 17 August 2017

On 16 August 2017, the Chamber of Deputies of Paraguay unanimously approved the draft implementing legislation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), in compliance with the country’s international obligations as a State Party.

This achievement is the culmination of concerted efforts and strong collaboration between Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) and its Members, together with  Amnesty International (AI) Paraguay and the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC).

The momentum created by PGA’s Consultations on the Implementation of the Rome Statute and Support for the International Criminal Court in Paraguay in July 2016, helped boost the Rome Statute implementation process in the country through the participation of numerous Parliamentarians and other relevant stakeholders from the Executive and the Judiciary branches, as well as civil society organizations, who addressed substantive aspects of the Rome Statute system and discussed political as well as legal obstacles to implementation.

This process started in 2013, when the government of Paraguay sent a draft implementing bill of the Rome Statute to the Senate. On 4 August 2016, the Senate of Paraguay approved said draft sent by the Executive on 7 January 2013, right after PGA member Sen. Emilia Patricia Alfaro, President of the Gender and Equality Commission, presented a motion of preference to the plenary of the Senate the same day of the consultations. However, the approved draft did not include civil society organizations’ substantive recommendations that aimed at closing gaps and harmonizing it with Rome Statute standards.

Shortly after, and thanks to the renewed dialogue with committed Legislators, in November 2016, PGA members Dip. Clemente Barrios, President of the Committee on Justice, Labor and Social Welfare and Dip. Juan Félix Bogado Tatter informed PGA that the Chamber of Deputies unanimously adopted the implementing legislation of the Rome Statute of the ICC, to which PGA, AI and CICC had made a number of recommendations. The amended draft bill approved by the Chamber of Deputies was then sent to the Senate.

In May 2017, the Senate of Paraguay, during an ordinary session, approved articles 4, 15, 16 (2), 25, 28, and 78 of the draft implementing bill – Senate version –  and accepted the other articles, as introduced by the Chamber of Deputies. As the Senate approved the draft implementing legislation with modifications, it was sent back to the House for a final sanction that took place yesterday, strengthening the domestic legal order to ensure that there is no immunity for authors of international crimes. The Law implementing the Rome Statute of the ICC will be sent to the Executive branch for promulgation.

Once again, Latin America has demonstrated its commitment to international justice and the protection of human rights by taking action and mobilizing national and international actors to ensure that international crimes are prevented; that individuals who have committed said crimes are prosecuted with the highest standards of due process; and that victims are afforded reparations.

In my capacity as Chairman of the Justice, Labor and Social Welfare Committee, I am pleased to inform colleagues at Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) and the Members of the International Criminal Court (ICC), of the approval by the Honorable Chamber of Deputies of the Republic of Paraguay on 16 August 2017, of the Implementation Law of the Rome Statute.

In this way, the parliamentary procedures established in the National Constitution of Paraguay are now concluded, the approved text will be sent to the Executive Power for its promulgation, and Paraguay fulfills the commitments made in different fora where it was able to participate.

I greet all colleagues, thanking the support of the offices of Parliamentarians for Global Action, Amnesty International Paraguay and the International Criminal Court for the successful completion of this process.Dip. Clemente Barrios
PGA member

I am pleased to report the approval by the Chamber of Deputies of the Republic of Paraguay, of the Law of Implementation of the Rome Statute, an indispensable tool to strengthen the Rule of Law and to promote a State that respects human rights.

With this implementation, we join the international community that is persistent in its attempts to prosecute individuals responsible for committing international crimes, namely crimes against humanity, genocide, war crimes and after activation, the crime of aggression.

Concluding the parliamentary efforts, we will send the approved text to the Executive Power for promulgation.Dip. Juan Félix Bogado Tatter
PGA member

THE Campaign for the Rome Statute of the ICC RECEIVES THE SUPPORT OF

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia
Permanent Mission of Liechtenstein to the UN
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland

And

PGA RECEIVES CORE SUPPORT FROM
Sweden (Sida) & Denmark (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)