On 28th and 29th September 2015, PGA facilitated the visit of a delegation of parliamentarians from the Foreign Affairs Committee of El Salvador to The Hague in order to meet with the organs of the International Criminal Court (ICC), experts, diplomats and fellow parliamentarians to address lingering political and legal concerns and obstacles to achieve consensus or majority-support for the ratification of the Rome Statute. This project built on the work that PGA has been doing since 2002 in respect of El Salvador.
The delegation was comprised by the parliamentarians: Mr. Mario Tenorio (MP, GANA, Chair, Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee); Ms. Karina Sosa (MP, FMLN; Chair, Foreign Affairs Committee), Mr. Reynaldo Cardoza (MP, PCN); Mr. José Edgar Escolán Batarsé (MP, ARENA); Mr. Lorenzo Rivas Echeverría (MP, GANA); as well as by Mr. Noel Orellana, Secretary General of the Legislative Assembly and officials from the El Salvadorian Foreign Service: Amb. Julio Milton Parada, Director of Parliamentary Affairs; Amb. Aida Luz Santos de Escobar, Ambassador of El Salvador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands; and Mr. Agustin Vasquez Gomez, Chargé de Affairs, Embassy of El Salvador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
On their visit to the ICC, the delegation met the ICC President, Judge Silvia Fernandez de Gurmendi, the Prosecutor, Ms. Fatou Bensouda, and the Registrar, Mr. Herman von Hebel. The meeting with the President helped to clarify a number of legal issues, including the issue of non-retroactivity of the Rome Statute and the relationship of this core principle with the continued crimes, regarding which the principle of inapplicability of Statutes of limitation applies. The ICC President not only provided the legal answer to those important question but also shared with the Delegation her experience as Argentinian diplomat negotiating the Rome Statute. Furthermore, the Prosecutor enlightened the Parliamentarians with information on current investigations, prosecutions and preliminary examinations, as well as on the practical implications of the principle of complementarity. The meeting with the Registrar contributed to dissipate doubts regarding the necessary cooperation with states, specifically in respect of protection of witnesses and victims programs.
The parliamentarians also had the opportunity to meet with senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Netherlands, the Vice-President of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute, Amb. Dr. Álvaro Moezinger (Uruguay) and other diplomats that actively participate in the work of the ASP such as the Ambassadors of Costa Rica and Bolivia, and the Legal Advisor of Mexico, as well as both Facilitators of Universality, Cyprus and Denmark. All those meetings served the important propose to provide first-hand information to the parliamentarians of a State that is considering joining the club of states parties to the Rome Statute, on the way in which being states parties have affected them as well as which are the benefits. All these States’ representatives underscored that to be Parties to the Rome Statute system not only contributes to the global fight against impunity but also to improve the national justice system.
Finally, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Dutch Parliament, represented by PGA Member Mr. Harry van Bommel, MP, and Mr. Michael Servaes, MP, met with the delegation of El Salvador and shared their experiences regarding the ratification and the role of the Hague-based ICC in the global framework of the fight against impunity. Salvadoran and Dutch Parliamentarians discussed each country’s pertinent history and present situation, highlighting that in the case of El Salvador, the past civil–war had a profound influence on the national debates concerning ratification, which is prospective in nature. As a result of the entire mission to The Hague, Salvadoran MPs reported that the Rome Statute process should not be further delayed. Dutch MPs also stressed that there were concerns when they ratified first, and implemented at a later stage, the Rome Statute. Yet, after several years of being States Parties, the Parliament, Government and people of the Netherlands see how beneficial it is to be protected by the jurisdictional system created by this instrument.
The Salvadorian parliamentarians from all political parties reaffirmed that the doubts that they had have been clarified and that they will act as multipliers of the information that they have receive from all the stakeholders and work towards a ratification in the coming weeks and months.
