New York/The Hague/Buenos Aires
On 3 November 2016, the Senate of Argentina approved the ratification of the Amendments to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), adopted in Kampala in 2010. This decision follows the approval from the Chamber of Deputies on 28 September 2016. Once the Government of Argentina deposits the Instrument of Ratification, Argentina will prohibit the use of certain weapons in armed conflicts not of an international character and criminalize acts of aggression arising from the gravest forms of unlawful use of force in international relations.
Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA), which worked closely with its member-parliamentarians in Argentina, welcomes this important contribution to strengthening the international legal framework to guarantee international peace and security and the territorial integrity and political independence of States, as well as to respect International Humanitarian Law and the fundamental human right to peace.
The process of adopting the Ratification Bill in the parliament was accelerated following the meeting held on 19 July 2016 by PGA President, Dip. Margarita Stolbizer, with high level officials in the Ministry of Justice, which focused primarily on discussing the ratification of the Kampala Amendments.
As a direct result of the meeting, the Kampala Amendments Ratification Bill was approved by the Ministry of Justice and was introduced to Parliament at the beginning of September. The ratification of the Kampala Amendments to the Rome Statute formed a part of the discussion during the meeting on 27 September 2016, held between Dip. Margarita Stolbizer and the Minister of Justice and Human Rights of Argentina, Mr. Germán Garavano. The next day, the Chamber of Deputies of Argentina approved the Kampala Amendments Ratification Bill.
The prohibition of aggression is a norm of jus cogens, a peremptory and non-derogable norm of International Law, alongside the prohibitions of genocide, crimes against humanity and (large-scale) war crimes, which are also peremptory norms affirmed in the Nuremberg jurisprudence and principles right after World War II. These are the four ‘core’ crimes under International Law listed in Article 5 of the Rome Statute, which form part of the subject-matter jurisdiction of the first permanent international criminal jurisdiction, the ICC.
While the ICC has operational jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes since 1 July 2002 (date of the entry into force of the Statute), the activation of the jurisdiction over the crime of aggression has been subject to two steps. The first step, reaching the threshold of 30 ratifications of the Kampala Amendments has already been achieved, as the current number of ratifications amounts to 32 (once Argentina deposits the Instrument of Ratification, it could become the 33th State to have done so). The remaining final step is the activation decision which may be taken as of 1st January, 2017 by the Assembly of States Parties (ASP).
PGA calls on State Parties to take this historic decision during the 2017 ASP, which will permit the ICC to try these acts of the gravest forms of unlawful use of force that constitute a breach to peace and security.
Selected Statements:
I am proud of my country’s demonstration of commitment to international justice and the strong role of the Rule of Law. I would like to call on all States that have not yet done so, to take the initiative to ratify the Kampala Amendments to demonstrate the respect for the territorial integrity of States and peace and security around the world. I encourage all States to follow my country’s example and send a strong message to illustrate their attachment to international justice by ensuring that the gravest use of force will not be tolerated and perpetrators will be held accountable.Dip. Margarita Stolbizer (Argentina)
President of PGA
The support towards the ICC and justice expressed by Argentina is particularly important in these difficult times where the trust in the Court is undermined by many erroneous perceptions. It is crucial not to forget about the Court`s unique and highly relevant mandate of putting an end to impunity for international crimes. Given the particularly dangerous nature of the Crime of Aggression which threatens international peace and security, I sincerely hope that this decision taken by Argentina will encourage my country, which has already committed to sending the Bill to ratify the Amendments a long time ago, to complete the ratification process.Sen. Julio César Valentín (Dominican Republic)
Member of PGA
About PGA
Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) is the largest transnational network of members of parliament from all regions of the world that, in their personal capacity, support the effective functioning of the ICC and national courts to end impunity for crimes of international law. The PGA network is assisted by a Secretariat to facilitate cooperation between member-parliamentarians with the view of realizing the vision of the Organization, namely “to contribute to the creation of a Rules-Based International Order for a more equitable, safe, and democratic world”. The Secretariat also provides technical assistance, and policy and legal advice to members.
As of today, PGA members have contributed to 77 over 124 ratifications or accessions to the Rome Statute and to 5 out of 32 ratifications of the Kampala Amendments. PGA is a member of the Steering Committee of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC).
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) and Denmark (Ministry of Foregin Affairs).