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Informal Daily Summary from the ASP10: Wednesday, 14 December 2011

14 Dec 2011

Dear all,

The tenth session of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) continued today in New York, USA.

This message includes an informal summary of developments at the ASP (I), and related news coverage and statements (II).

The various papers produced by Coalition teams as well as individual members' recommendations to the ASP are available on the Coalition's website at: http://coalitionfortheicc.org/?mod=asp10

Official ASP documents and journals can be found on the ICC-ASP website at: http://www.icc-cpi.int/Menus/ASP/Sessions/Documentation/10th+Session/Tenth+session+of+the+Assembly+of+States+Parties.htm

We also suggest you to follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/_CICC and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CoalitionfortheInternationalCriminalCourt where timely ASP updates are posted.

Pictures of the event can be viewed on the Coalition's Flickr account at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/coalitionforicc/

Regards,
CICC Secretariat
www.coalitionfortheicc.org

***********************
I. CICC ASP10 INFORMAL SUMMARY: WEDNESDAY 14 DECEMBER 2011

A. PLENARY SESSION

The third day of the plenary session was dedicated to the ASP General Debate with speeches from Luxembourg, Costa Rica, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Samoa, Australia on behalf of CANZ (Australia, Canada, New Zealand), Philippines, Serbia, the Netherlands, Ecuador, Uganda, Austria, Bangladesh, Jordan, Sweden, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Poland on behalf of the European Union, Croatia, Norway, Namibia, Nigeria, Lesotho, Democratic Republic of Congo, Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Korea, Slovenia, France and the United States as observer state. Statements will be made available on the ICC-ASP website at: http://www.icc-cpi.int/nr/exeres/8e728ec3-5785-4127-83d7-d910d99df603.htm

Civil society representatives then addressed the Assembly, including: Jelena Pia-Comella (CICC Secretariat), Ali Ouatarra (Cote D�Ivoire CICC), Liz Evenson (Human Rights Watch), Kular Segaran MP (Parliamentarians for Global Action), Natia Katsitadze (Georgian Young Lawyers Association), Jonathon O�Donohue (Amnesty International), Gaelle Carayon (REDRESS), Paulina Vega Gonzalez (FIDH) and Amor Boubakri (University of Sousse, Tunisia).

The interventions of Jalil Banesh (Afghanistan Watch), Kelly Askin (Open Society Justice Initiative), Wilfredo Mendez (CIPRODEH) will be circulated in writing.

Issues raised included, among others, ICC elections and leadership, current ICC situations and preliminary examinations, UN Security Council referrals, cooperation and political support to the Court, universality, complementarity, the Court�s budget for 2012, victims rights, ICC communications and planned celebrations of the 10th anniversary of the entry into force of the Rome Statute.

These statements will be posted shortly on the CICC website at: http://www.coalitionfortheicc.org/?mod=asp10 and the ICC-ASP website at: http://www.icc-cpi.int/nr/exeres/8e728ec3-5785-4127-83d7-d910d99df603.htm

In the morning, states also again held informal consultations on the Omnibus Resolution, "Strengthening the International Criminal Court and the Assembly of States Parties". Issues discussed included the role of the Study Group on Governance, the Search Committee for the position of ICC Prosecutor, and the possible need to hold a resumed session of the ASP in the first half of 2012.

In the afternoon, the elections of ICC judges for three remaining positions resumed. However after rounds 6, 7 and 8, no candidates reached the required majority of votes and therefore no judges were elected. Wladyslaw CZAPLINSKI (Poland) and Eduardo CIFUENTES MUNOZ (Colombia) withdrew their candidacies. As no further candidates were elected today, voting will therefore resume tomorrow with 8 remaining candidates competing for the three remaining spots. To read more on ICC elections, visit: http://www.coalitionfortheicc.org/?mod=electionjudgessixth2011 and follow us on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/_CICC

Informal consultations on the budget were also held in the afternoon. To read the paper of the Coalition's Budget Team, see: http://coalitionfortheicc.org/documents/CICC_Budget_and_Finance_Team_Paper_ASP10.pdf

Read the Proposed Programme Budget for 2012 of the International Criminal Court at http://icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/asp_docs/ASP10/ICC-ASP-10-10-ENG.pdf and the Report of the Committee on Budget and Finance on the work of its seventeenth session at http://icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/asp_docs/ASP10/ICC-ASP-10-15-ENG.pdf

B. SIDE EVENTS

The CICC organized a Middle East and North Africa Regional Meeting with government delegates from Tunisia, Egypt, Palestine, Iran, Israel, Algeria, Bahrain, along with civil society representatives from the Arab Network for Human Rights, Information Egypt, Adaleh Centre for Human Rights Studies-Jordan, Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, Human Rights Advocacy Network for Democracy Sudan, Human Rights Watch, No Peace Without Justice, FIDH and Amnesty International. Issues touched upon included Tunisia's accession to the Rome Statute and the Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the ICC, cooperation with the Court on the Libya and Darfur situations, prospects for ratification in Egypt and in the region, the preliminary examination in Palestine, as well as other comments on developments in Syria and Yemen.
For more information on ICC and the Middle East and North Africa, visit: http://www.coalitionfortheicc.org/?mod=region&idureg=13

The CICC also organized a CICC Regional Meeting with Ibero-American government delegates from Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Mexico, Venezuela, Peru, Cuba, Uruguay, Panama, Dominican Republic and Andorra. Representatives from the Assembly of States Parties and the ICC Registry were also in attendance. Civil society organizations participating included Parliamentarians for Global Action, FIDH, Amnesty International, Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice, the Andean Commission of Jurists, the Colombian Commission of Jurists, the Mexican Coalition for the ICC, CIPRODEH Honduras, Avocats Sans-Frontieres and CASIN. Issues touched upon included the ICC budget for 2012, ICC judicial and prosecutorial elections, states' implementation processes and strengthening cooperation with the ICC, the funding of UN Security Council referrals to the ICC, the role of the Organization of American States (OAS) in promoting further ratifications in OAS states and in providing assistance with implementation processes, the recent cooperation agreement between the ICC and OAS, and consideration of ratifications of the Kampala amendment.
For more information on ICC and the Americas, visit: http://www.coalitionfortheicc.org/?mod=region&idureg=4

A panel discussion on �Witness Protection: Lessons Learned and Ways Ahead�, was organized by Denmark, Uganda and the United States. Speakers included Carsten Staur (Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Denmark to the UN), Stephen J. Rapp (Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues, US Department of State), Justice Daniel Akiiki-kiiza, (President of the International Crimes Division of the High Court of Uganda), Mirjam Blaak (Ambassador and Deputy Head of Mission at the Uganda Embassy Brussels), Iwan Waltenburg (Head of Operations, Victims and Witnesses Unit, International Criminal Court) and Chris Mahony, (Consultant, International Crime in Africa Programme, Institute for Security Studies; author of The Justice Sector Afterthought: Witness Protection in Africa).Other participating states included the UK, Finland, Italy, Japan, among others. Civil society representatives from REDRESS, FIDH and No Peace Without Justice were also in attendance. The panelists spoke about the lessons learned, challenges, and remaining gaps in ensuring security and protection for witnesses, both at the international and national levels; as well as key issues to be explored including the ICC�s witness protection efforts, the Special Fund for Relocation, best practices and lessons learned from other tribunals and internationalized courts, and witness and judicial protection at the national level.
For more information, see: http://www.missionfnnewyork.um.dk/NR/rdonlyres/86C05DFB-C49A-4937-98CA-0D975934BA18/0/14DecFlyer_2011ASPwitnessprotectionsideeventDK.PDF

II. RELATED NEWS COVERAGE AND STATEMENTS

1. �The Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute opens its tenth session,� ICC-ASP Press Release, 14 December 2011, http://www.icc-cpi.int/NR/exeres/0E0A4EE7-6C79-4FA1-85CB-4752DEEC1488.htm
2. �ICTJ Welcomes the Election of Fatou Bensouda as Prosecutor of the ICC,� ICTJ Press Release, 14 December 2011, http://ictj.org/news/ictj-welcomes-election-fatou-bensouda-prosecutor-icc
3. �ICC benefits from change at top,� The National (UAE), 15 December 2011, http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/editorial/icc-benefits-from-change-at-top
4. �Sen. Santiago wins seat in International Criminal Court,� Momar Visaya, Asian Journal, 14 December 2011, http://www.asianjournal.com/dateline-philippines/headlines/14151-sen-santiago-wins-seat-in-international-criminal-court.html
5. �Miriam finally elected to International Criminal Court,� Neil Alcober Correspondent and Bernice Camille V. Bauzon, Manila Times, 14 December 2011, http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/news/top-stories/13175-miriam-finally-elected-to-international-criminal-court
6. �One African president speaks truth to power on the ICC,� Max du Plessis, ISS, 14 December 2011, http://www.iss.co.za/iss_today.php?ID=1406
7. �Justice Carmona elected ICC judge,� Jada Loutoo, Newsday (Trinidad and Tobago), 14 December 2011, http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,152218.html
8. �Carmona elected ICC judge,� Yvonne Webb, Guardian (Trinidad and Tobago), 14 December 2011, http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2011/12/14/carmona-elected-icc-judge
9. �Guest Blogger: Fatou Bensouda,� IntLawGrrls, 14 December 2011, http://intlawgrrls.blogspot.com/2011/12/guest-blogger-fatou-bensouda.html
10. �Next International Criminal Court prosecutor pledges to prosecute sexual and gender crimes,� AP, 13 December 2011, http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/americas/next-international-criminal-court-prosecutor-pledges-to-prosecute-sexual-and-gender-crimes/2011/12/13/gIQAdINWsO_story.html
11. �Election de Fatou Bensouda au poste de Procureur de la Cour pénale internationale (Election of Fatou Bensouda to the position of Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court),� France Diplomatie, 13 December 2011, http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/enjeux-internationaux_830/justice-internationale_1037/droit-penal-international_4815/cour-penale-internationale_5116/election-fatou-bensouda-au-poste-procureur-cour-penale-internationale-13.12.11_97439.html
12. �Fatou Bensouda new ICC Chief Prosecutor,� RNW, 12 December 2011, http://www.rnw.nl/international-justice/article/fatou-bensouda-new-icc-chief-prosecutor

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News Browse by Region Media Digests Country Updates UN Excerpts on the ICC Updates of the Assembly Browse by Region		Informal Daily Summary from the ASP10: Wednesday, 14 December 2011 14 Dec 2011 Dear all, The tenth session of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) continued today in New York, USA. This message includes an informal summary of developments at the ASP (I), and related news coverage and statements (II). The various papers produced by Coalition teams as well as individual members' recommendations to the ASP are available on the Coalition's website at: http://coalitionfortheicc.org/?mod=asp10 Official ASP documents and journals can be found on the ICC-ASP website at: http://www.icc-cpi.int/Menus/ASP/Sessions/Documentation/10th+Session/Tenth+session+of+the+Assembly+of+States+Parties.htm We also suggest you to follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/_CICC and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CoalitionfortheInternationalCriminalCourt where timely ASP updates are posted. Pictures of the event can be viewed on the Coalition's Flickr account at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/coalitionforicc/ Regards, CICC Secretariat www.coalitionfortheicc.org *********************** I. CICC ASP10 INFORMAL SUMMARY: WEDNESDAY 14 DECEMBER 2011 A. PLENARY SESSION The third day of the plenary session was dedicated to the ASP General Debate with speeches from Luxembourg, Costa Rica, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Samoa, Australia on behalf of CANZ (Australia, Canada, New Zealand), Philippines, Serbia, the Netherlands, Ecuador, Uganda, Austria, Bangladesh, Jordan, Sweden, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Poland on behalf of the European Union, Croatia, Norway, Namibia, Nigeria, Lesotho, Democratic Republic of Congo, Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Korea, Slovenia, France and the United States as observer state. Statements will be made available on the ICC-ASP website at: http://www.icc-cpi.int/nr/exeres/8e728ec3-5785-4127-83d7-d910d99df603.htm Civil society representatives then addressed the Assembly, including: Jelena Pia-Comella (CICC Secretariat), Ali Ouatarra (Cote D�Ivoire CICC), Liz Evenson (Human Rights Watch), Kular Segaran MP (Parliamentarians for Global Action), Natia Katsitadze (Georgian Young Lawyers Association), Jonathon O�Donohue (Amnesty International), Gaelle Carayon (REDRESS), Paulina Vega Gonzalez (FIDH) and Amor Boubakri (University of Sousse, Tunisia). The interventions of Jalil Banesh (Afghanistan Watch), Kelly Askin (Open Society Justice Initiative), Wilfredo Mendez (CIPRODEH) will be circulated in writing. Issues raised included, among others, ICC elections and leadership, current ICC situations and preliminary examinations, UN Security Council referrals, cooperation and political support to the Court, universality, complementarity, the Court�s budget for 2012, victims rights, ICC communications and planned celebrations of the 10th anniversary of the entry into force of the Rome Statute. These statements will be posted shortly on the CICC website at: http://www.coalitionfortheicc.org/?mod=asp10 and the ICC-ASP website at: http://www.icc-cpi.int/nr/exeres/8e728ec3-5785-4127-83d7-d910d99df603.htm In the morning, states also again held informal consultations on the Omnibus Resolution, "Strengthening the International Criminal Court and the Assembly of States Parties". Issues discussed included the role of the Study Group on Governance, the Search Committee for the position of ICC Prosecutor, and the possible need to hold a resumed session of the ASP in the first half of 2012. In the afternoon, the elections of ICC judges for three remaining positions resumed. However after rounds 6, 7 and 8, no candidates reached the required majority of votes and therefore no judges were elected. Wladyslaw CZAPLINSKI (Poland) and Eduardo CIFUENTES MUNOZ (Colombia) withdrew their candidacies. As no further candidates were elected today, voting will therefore resume tomorrow with 8 remaining candidates competing for the three remaining spots. To read more on ICC elections, visit: http://www.coalitionfortheicc.org/?mod=electionjudgessixth2011 and follow us on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/_CICC Informal consultations on the budget were also held in the afternoon. To read the paper of the Coalition's Budget Team, see: http://coalitionfortheicc.org/documents/CICC_Budget_and_Finance_Team_Paper_ASP10.pdf Read the Proposed Programme Budget for 2012 of the International Criminal Court at http://icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/asp_docs/ASP10/ICC-ASP-10-10-ENG.pdf and the Report of the Committee on Budget and Finance on the work of its seventeenth session at http://icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/asp_docs/ASP10/ICC-ASP-10-15-ENG.pdf B. SIDE EVENTS The CICC organized a Middle East and North Africa Regional Meeting with government delegates from Tunisia, Egypt, Palestine, Iran, Israel, Algeria, Bahrain, along with civil society representatives from the Arab Network for Human Rights, Information Egypt, Adaleh Centre for Human Rights Studies-Jordan, Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, Human Rights Advocacy Network for Democracy Sudan, Human Rights Watch, No Peace Without Justice, FIDH and Amnesty International. Issues touched upon included Tunisia's accession to the Rome Statute and the Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the ICC, cooperation with the Court on the Libya and Darfur situations, prospects for ratification in Egypt and in the region, the preliminary examination in Palestine, as well as other comments on developments in Syria and Yemen. For more information on ICC and the Middle East and North Africa, visit: http://www.coalitionfortheicc.org/?mod=region&idureg=13 The CICC also organized a CICC Regional Meeting with Ibero-American government delegates from Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Mexico, Venezuela, Peru, Cuba, Uruguay, Panama, Dominican Republic and Andorra. Representatives from the Assembly of States Parties and the ICC Registry were also in attendance. Civil society organizations participating included Parliamentarians for Global Action, FIDH, Amnesty International, Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice, the Andean Commission of Jurists, the Colombian Commission of Jurists, the Mexican Coalition for the ICC, CIPRODEH Honduras, Avocats Sans-Frontieres and CASIN. Issues touched upon included the ICC budget for 2012, ICC judicial and prosecutorial elections, states' implementation processes and strengthening cooperation with the ICC, the funding of UN Security Council referrals to the ICC, the role of the Organization of American States (OAS) in promoting further ratifications in OAS states and in providing assistance with implementation processes, the recent cooperation agreement between the ICC and OAS, and consideration of ratifications of the Kampala amendment. For more information on ICC and the Americas, visit: http://www.coalitionfortheicc.org/?mod=region&idureg=4 A panel discussion on �Witness Protection: Lessons Learned and Ways Ahead�, was organized by Denmark, Uganda and the United States. Speakers included Carsten Staur (Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Denmark to the UN), Stephen J. Rapp (Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues, US Department of State), Justice Daniel Akiiki-kiiza, (President of the International Crimes Division of the High Court of Uganda), Mirjam Blaak (Ambassador and Deputy Head of Mission at the Uganda Embassy Brussels), Iwan Waltenburg (Head of Operations, Victims and Witnesses Unit, International Criminal Court) and Chris Mahony, (Consultant, International Crime in Africa Programme, Institute for Security Studies; author of The Justice Sector Afterthought: Witness Protection in Africa).Other participating states included the UK, Finland, Italy, Japan, among others. Civil society representatives from REDRESS, FIDH and No Peace Without Justice were also in attendance. The panelists spoke about the lessons learned, challenges, and remaining gaps in ensuring security and protection for witnesses, both at the international and national levels; as well as key issues to be explored including the ICC�s witness protection efforts, the Special Fund for Relocation, best practices and lessons learned from other tribunals and internationalized courts, and witness and judicial protection at the national level. For more information, see: http://www.missionfnnewyork.um.dk/NR/rdonlyres/86C05DFB-C49A-4937-98CA-0D975934BA18/0/14DecFlyer_2011ASPwitnessprotectionsideeventDK.PDF II. RELATED NEWS COVERAGE AND STATEMENTS 1. �The Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute opens its tenth session,� ICC-ASP Press Release, 14 December 2011, http://www.icc-cpi.int/NR/exeres/0E0A4EE7-6C79-4FA1-85CB-4752DEEC1488.htm 2. �ICTJ Welcomes the Election of Fatou Bensouda as Prosecutor of the ICC,� ICTJ Press Release, 14 December 2011, http://ictj.org/news/ictj-welcomes-election-fatou-bensouda-prosecutor-icc 3. �ICC benefits from change at top,� The National (UAE), 15 December 2011, http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/editorial/icc-benefits-from-change-at-top 4. �Sen. Santiago wins seat in International Criminal Court,� Momar Visaya, Asian Journal, 14 December 2011, http://www.asianjournal.com/dateline-philippines/headlines/14151-sen-santiago-wins-seat-in-international-criminal-court.html 5. �Miriam finally elected to International Criminal Court,� Neil Alcober Correspondent and Bernice Camille V. Bauzon, Manila Times, 14 December 2011, http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/news/top-stories/13175-miriam-finally-elected-to-international-criminal-court 6. �One African president speaks truth to power on the ICC,� Max du Plessis, ISS, 14 December 2011, http://www.iss.co.za/iss_today.php?ID=1406 7. �Justice Carmona elected ICC judge,� Jada Loutoo, Newsday (Trinidad and Tobago), 14 December 2011, http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,152218.html 8. �Carmona elected ICC judge,� Yvonne Webb, Guardian (Trinidad and Tobago), 14 December 2011, http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2011/12/14/carmona-elected-icc-judge 9. �Guest Blogger: Fatou Bensouda,� IntLawGrrls, 14 December 2011, http://intlawgrrls.blogspot.com/2011/12/guest-blogger-fatou-bensouda.html 10. �Next International Criminal Court prosecutor pledges to prosecute sexual and gender crimes,� AP, 13 December 2011, http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/americas/next-international-criminal-court-prosecutor-pledges-to-prosecute-sexual-and-gender-crimes/2011/12/13/gIQAdINWsO_story.html 11. �Election de Fatou Bensouda au poste de Procureur de la Cour pénale internationale (Election of Fatou Bensouda to the position of Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court),� France Diplomatie, 13 December 2011, http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/enjeux-internationaux_830/justice-internationale_1037/droit-penal-international_4815/cour-penale-internationale_5116/election-fatou-bensouda-au-poste-procureur-cour-penale-internationale-13.12.11_97439.html 12. �Fatou Bensouda new ICC Chief Prosecutor,� RNW, 12 December 2011, http://www.rnw.nl/international-justice/article/fatou-bensouda-new-icc-chief-prosecutor