17 July 2018 marked the Twentieth Anniversary of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

To commemorate this milestone, PGA partnered with governments, civil society organizations and relevant stakeholders to organize events on 17 July and 18 July, respectively in New York and in Rome. 

Today, 6 September 2018, in the same commemorative spirit, the Uruguayan Parliament, the Uruguay Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Trust Fund for Victims (TFV) of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the Uruguayan PGA National Group, with the support of the Uruguayan Presidency, are organizing an event entitled XX Anniversary of the Rome Statute: challenges in the protection of human rights. The event coincides with the landmark decision rendered this morning in The Hague by the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber that affirms the jurisdiction of the ICC on the alleged crimes against humanity of deportation, persecution and other inhumane acts perpetrated against the Rohingya populations forcibly deported into the territories of Bangladesh, a State Party to the Rome Statute.

Under the leadership of Dr. Felipe Michelini, Member of the Board of Directors of the TFV of the ICC and of Dip. Macarena Gelman, President of the PGA National group, the Uruguayan Parliament will host critical debates on the essential contribution that the Rome Statute has given in two decades to the promotion of human rights, democratic values and the strengthening of the Rule of Law through the fight against impunity. 

Latin America has contributed substantially to the consolidation of an international criminal justice system based on the Rome Statute system. Despite all these efforts, many challenges remain. PGA will provide a platform to address such challenges in subsequent events, including a Subregional Parliamentary Seminar on the universality and implementation of the Rome Statute: A fundamental tool for strengthening the rule of law and sustainable development in inclusive and peaceful societies, that is to take place in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on 18 and 19 October 2018.

On a more global scale, PGA is organizing its 40th Annual Forum and 10th Consultative Assembly of Parliamentarians on the ICC and the Rule of Law (CAP ICC) in Kyiv, Ukraine, on 16 and 17 November 2018. 

Members of PGA and other concerned Lawmakers will continue to gather during 2018 to reaffirm their commitment to the “never again/ nunca mas” principle, i.e. we can no longer tolerate the impunity of individuals who are responsible for the commission of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression: crimes that shock the essence of humanity.