September 28 and 29, 2016 | Montevideo/The Hague/New York
On 28-29 September 2016, in the framework of its Parliamentary Campaign for the Effectiveness and Universality of the Rome Statute, Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) organized a Parliamentary Seminar entitled: Support for the International Criminal Court: say No to impunity for international crimes Yes to reparation for victims, hosted by the Senate of Uruguay.
This seminar aimed to provide a space in which legislators and other stakeholders from different countries in Latin America could exchange views on progress made and challenges that remain in their respective countries regarding the full implementation of the principles and crimes of the Statute, the establishment of national mechanisms of cooperation with the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the ratification of the 2010 Kampala Amendments to the Rome Statute.
The distinguished audience at the event, which received support from the Municipality of Montevideo and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), benefited from the active participation of legislators from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela.
During the opening session of the event, Dip. Alfredo Asti (Uruguay), vice-president for Uruguay in the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino) and in representation of President Sen. Blanca María del Socorro Alcalá Ruiz (Mexico), Dip. Daniel Radio (Uruguay), PGA member and Dip. Ronny Monge, PGA Board member, emphasized the responsibility of Parliamentarians in the promotion and achievement of stronger national legal frameworks that allow for the prevention and prosecution of serious violations of human rights, in compliance with national and international norms. In this regard, the Rome Statute of the ICC is a fundamental tool, having established the first and only permanent Court with jurisdiction to bring to justice individuals for the most serious crimes of international concern, namely crimes against humanity, genocide, war crimes and, in prospect, the crime of aggression.
The first day of the seminar focused on the implementation of the general principles of law and crimes of the Rome Statute, topics introduced by experts from PGA and the ICRC, as well as the challenges that countries in the region face on said implementation. Indeed, Mr. Ricardo Dominguez, Permanent Representative of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Uruguay, painted an overview from a regional perspective, underscoring the importance of parliamentarians as primary actors for the recognition of the role of the ICC and of international law in general. In times during which democracy and the Rule of Law may be threatened, the legislative power becomes all the more important for the effective implementation of international norms within national legal frameworks. Dip. Jorge Cálix (Honduras), PGA member, discussed the situation in Honduras and renewed his commitment to continue advancing the implementation process in his country. Ms. Ina Zoon, Open Society Justice Initiative’s Project Manager for Latin America, presented a report on the situation in Mexico that was published this year (2016), describing the current situation of human rights violations that could amount to international crimes against the background of past violations on massive scale characterized by impunity.
As an introduction to the topic at hand, Dip. Daniel Radio (Uruguay), PGA member, reminded the audience the 3 main pillars of the Rome Statute system: complementarity, non-retroactivity and no-immunities. Starting with the principle of complementarity, he stressed that the Rome Statute recognize in its preamble and its text that the primary responsibility to prosecute international crimes lies with the national authorities. Moreover, Dip. Radio stressed that, due to non-retroactive application of the Statute, the Court only has jurisdiction for crimes committed after the Statute entered into force for that country. He concluded by explaining that a big step for the international community in the fight against impunity was the inclusion of the principle of irrelevance of official capacity within the text of the Rome Statute, in line with customary international law. This principle means that all individuals are equal before the law and that there will be no impunity for international crimes regardless of the official capacity of the accused, even if he/she is Head of State, Government or even parliamentarian.
As rightly reminded by Sen. Emilia Alfaro (Paraguay), who was a driving force to approve the implementing legislation in the Senate of her country, the substantive implementation of the Rome Statute within national legal frameworks can be a long process. In her presentation, she explained that the latter took the necessary time as ample consultations took place with all relevant stakeholders including relevant ministries, the Supreme Court, the Attorney General’s office, legislators, and local and international civil society. Many legal and political aspects had to be discussed, which ultimately, on 4 August 2016, culminated in the adoption in the Senate of the bill that implements the crimes and principles included in the Rome Statute as well as sets the national mechanisms of cooperation with the ICC.
Another Paraguayan Legislator present, Dip. Juan Félix Bogado (Paraguay), PGA member, offered some insight on how the promotion of the Rome Statute system is as a way in his country to foster reconciliation between different parts of society who have suffered from the military dictatorship. Under these violent regimes, the Latin American nations including that of Paraguay have suffered atrocious human rights abuses, from torture, illegal imprisonment to forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. His understanding is particularly poignant as he is the grandson and son of victims of the dictatorship.
He underscored there has been much progress on the understanding of the Rome Statute system in Paraguay as a way to build the Rule of Law for the future thanks also to the efforts of his colleague Dip. Clemente Barrios Monge, who is a member of the majority political party and supports of some of the policies of the former regime. Working on the implementation of the Rome Statute is a contribution that every legislator should make to the benefit of their people and the international community, in Paraguay, different political parties are working together to fully implement the Rome Statute and to support the ICC. Dip. Bogado pledged to push for the approval of the Bill that implements the Statute in the Chamber of Deputies and to meet with the Minister of Justice, together with other PGA members, regarding full cooperation with the Court.
A similar story of reconciliation in society through a Rome Statute-related process was presented by Dip. Iris Guerra (El Salvador), who stressed that the ratification of the Statute was a commitment by all those parties that supported it to their constituents concerning the non-repetition the past violent crimes that occurred in El Salvador. She highlighted the work of parliamentarians from her political party as well as from other parties that made possible the adoption of the bill of ratification of the Statute on 26 November 2015, a few days before PGA’s Annual Forum in San Salvador. Dip. Guerra stated that setting the national mechanisms to cooperate with the ICC is now the priority for her country as a way to show that their commitment was real when they voted in favor of the ratification.
In the region, Venezuela’s case exposed by Dip. Delsa Solorzano (Venezuela) is a great cause for concern. She however indicated that she has started, together with other MPs, to work on a bill to fully implement the Rome Statute in her country. Dip Solorzano envisaged that the bill might be approved by the beginning of next year. Along similar lines, Dip. Jean Wyllys (Chair of the PGA Brazil National Group), speaking about the difficulties of his own country, Brazil, explained that many serious violation of human rights in particular of vulnerable populations occur, for instance, in prisons, where torture is still a common practice. The Rome Statute System is as relevant as ever in the face of the ongoing atrocities in the world and in certain parts of Latin America: the Brazilian Lawmaker pledged to work towards getting the support of other MPs to adopt the implementing legislation in the Parliament that has been pending since 2007.
The Rome Statute is a multi-faceted instrument designed to have a deterrent effect, to bring about the prosecution of the most serious violations of international concern, and to allow for reparations of victims of these atrocious crimes. The reparative component is often the forgotten aspect of the Rome Statute, which includes the Trust Fund for Victims (TFV). Dr. Felipe Michelini, Board Member of the TFV, explained in his presentation the role of such Fund in supporting and implementing programs that address harms resulting from genocide, crimes of humanity and war crimes. The TFV implements Court-Ordered reparations and provides physical, psychological, as well as material support to victims and their families. Since 2008, the TFV has alleviated the suffering of 110,000 victims of which over 5,000 are survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. Dr. Michelini expressed his concern regarding the lack of financial support for the TFV and urged the legislators present, to keep the institution in mind when interacting with their government officials.
The second day of the activity centered on the strengthening of national mechanisms of cooperation with the Court and the ratification of the Kampala Amendments.
Dip. Ronny Monge (Costa Rica), PGA Board member, touched upon the importance of raising awareness on the Rome Statute System so that all relevant national actors may become familiar with it. Although Costa Rica has been at the forefront of various international instruments’ ratification, there was no real identification with the Rome Statute. One should not only concentrate on voting laws, but also making sure that the constituents understand the tool presented to their benefit. The legislator further expanded on the fact that Costa Rica may be a peaceful country but, as long as there are atrocity crimes being committed elsewhere on Earth, each country is responsible to fight against the impunity of those who commit such crimes. Therefore, it is paramount that all States fully cooperate with the ICC. In this line, he pledged to encourage the members from the Security Committee, which he chairs, to adopt the bill that set the national mechanisms to cooperate with the ICC before the end of the year.
On the topic of cooperation with the ICC, Dip. Demostenes Martinez (Dominican Republic), PGA member, reiterated his country’s commitment to the fight against impunity especially by the adoption by the Chamber of Deputies of the amended Criminal Code, which contains definitions of the 4 crimes included in the Rome Statute, in pursuit of the input provided by PGA during the entire revision process.
As a commitment with his constituents and the international community, he pledged to advance the work on the draft cooperation bill as well as the ratification of the Kampala Amendments by working together with PGA members from other political parties and, also, from the Senate. Dip. Oswaldo Ramos Soto (Honduras), PGA member, also pledged to advance the discussion on the amendments to the Criminal Code, to which PGA has contributed, as well as liaise with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the ratification of the Kampala Amendment and include in the agenda of the Committee that he chairs the discussion of the bill that sets the mechanisms to cooperate with the ICC. This Bill has already received the favorable opinion of the Attorney General Office and the Supreme Court of Honduras.
Much progress is being made in the region on the ratification of the Kampala Amendments, and PGA’s acting President, Dip. Margarita Stolbizer (Argentina) announced in the framework of the Seminar, that the Argentinian Chamber of Deputies approved on 28 September the Kampala Amendments ratification and that the Senate is expected to approve it soon. Dip. Stolbizer also shared that a meeting with the Minister of Justice and the ICC President was convened by PGA to generate the necessary political will from the government for the signature of cooperation agreements. Highlighting that the ICC has been a State policy for Argentina, as all political parties when in government have supported the ICC, she announced the holding of a seminar with federal judges, prosecutors and legislators to raise awareness on the duties that Argentina has as a Party to the Rome Statute.
Dip. Mario Tenorio (El Salvador), a longstanding PGA member, shared the experience of El Salvador as the first country that have ratified the amended Rome Statute and highlighted the protection that the Kampala Amendment on the crime of aggression means to small countries like El Salvador. Sen. Julio César Valentín (newly elected Chair of the PGA Dominican Republic group) stressed the work that he has being carrying out together with colleagues to follow up on the public commitment of government officials in their presentation at the PGA Seminar held in Santo Domingo in 2015. He stressed that the people of Dominican Republic stands ready to support the ICC in the fulfillment of its mandate to fight against impunity. Finally, Sen. Carlos Pablo Klinsky Fernández (Bolivia) underlined the importance of the lessons learned by parliamentarians from Paraguay and El Salvador regarding the necessity of all political parties working together on issues that are essential for the international community as a whole. Sen. Klinsky pledged to meet with all PGA members in Bolivia and put in motion the action plan for Bolivia to fully implement the Rome Statute and ratify the Kampala Amendments.
With the view of strengthening the fight against impunity, Argentinian Ambassador in Uruguay Mr. Guillermo Montenegro presented the Permanent Declaration, co-authored by the governments of the Kingdoms of Netherlands and Belgium, Senegal, Slovenia and Argentina, entitled International Initiative for the Opening of Negotiations on a Multilateral Mutual Legal Assistance and Extradition Treaty in the Local Prosecution of Atrocity Crimes (crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and crimes of war). Also knows as the Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) treaty initiative, it is designed to create a legally binding framework for States to cooperate with each other in countering mass-atrocity crimes. PGA supports this initiative since 2013.
The seminar concluded with the adoption of the Plan of Action of Montevideo 2016, though which parliamentarians committed to advance, in their respective parliaments, legislative reforms for the effective implementation of the Rome Statute and to call on their governments to send bills Kampala Amendments’ ratification to Parliament and to sign ad hoc cooperation agreements with the ICC.
