Co-hosted by the Mission of Liechtenstein, the Global Institute for the Prevention of Aggression & Parliamentarians for Global Action,
at the margins of the 4th World Conference of Speakers of Parliament
On 1 September 2015, PGA was honored to co-host, together with the Permanent Mission of Liechtenstein to the United Nations in New York, an event for Parliamentarians, organized on the margins of the 4th World Conference of Speakers titled “The Role of Parliaments in Criminalizing Illegal and Aggressive War-Making”.
In line with the leadership of the Principality of Liechtenstein in promoting the ratification of the Kampala Amendments to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), H.E. Mr. Albert Frick, Speaker of Parliament of the Principality of Liechtenstein, focused in his welcoming remarks on the necessity for more States to ratify the Kampala Amendments, specially before 2017 when the jurisdiction of the Court over the crime of aggression could be activated, in furtherance of the Rome Statute goal to be an ultimate rampart against impunity and for the promotion of peace.
The first country to ratify the Rome Statute of the ICC was Senegal, and the speech of H.E. Moustapha Niasse Speaker of the National Assembly of Senegal and Member of PGA made his message particularly powerful, as it reiterated the country’s commitment with the Rome Statute system, their support to the ICC and the decision to make the ratification of the Kampala Amendments the first topic of discussion in the parliament after recess. H.E. Jean Max Rakotomamonjy Speaker of the Parliament of Madagascar and PGA Member also expressed his strong support for the ratification of the Kampala Amendments and his commitment to engage more parliamentarians in this topic.
At the 2010 Review Conference of the International Criminal Court (ICC), States Parties adopted, by consensus, Amendments to the Rome Statute that define the Crime of Aggression and outline the jurisdictional regime of the Court over this crime. At present, 23 States Parties to the Rome Statute have ratified the amendments – 30 ratifications are needed to activate the Court’s jurisdiction.
The participants, among which were many Parliamentarians, benefitted from the expertise and inspirational commitment of panelists such as the former Nuremberg Trials Prosecutor Mr. Benjamin Ferencz, former PGA Board Member Dr. Felipe Michelini, Member of the Truth and Justice Commission of Uruguay and Mr. Stephan Barriga, Deputy Permanent Representative of Liechtenstein to the United Nations, who explained political, legal and strategic aspects of the Crime of Aggression. The presentations and interactions of the panelists with the high-level audience fostered awareness and understanding of the Kampala Amendments more particularly emphasizing the role of such amendments in supporting the prohibition of the illegal and aggressive use of force, a principle that underpins the Charter of the United Nations.
As many of the attendees were Members of Parliament, this meeting was also the occasion to increase political will towards new ratifications of the Kampala Amendments highlighting the benefits for small and medium States, as well as generate support for the Assembly of States Parties’ one-time decision to activate the Court’s jurisdiction over the Crime of Aggression. The Rapporteur of the meeting and Chair of the PGA UK National Group, Mr. Mark Pritchard, MP, laid an emphasis on the importance of the role of Parliamentarians in the Rome Statute System as well as the ratification of the Kampala Amendments by all States. In her concluding remarks, the President of PGA, Dip. Minou Tavarez Mirabal (MP Dominican Republic) made a plea for all Parliamentarians to take responsibility and support the Rome Statute system through inter alia the ratification of the Kampala Amendments for a world united against impunity.
