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Informal Summary of ASP10 Outcomes

21 Dec 2011

Dear all,

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

This message includes an informal summary of key developments at the ASP this
week (I) as well as related documents and news coverage (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+sessi
on+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. ASP10 OUTCOMES: CICC INFORMAL SUMMARY

From 12-21 December 2011, states parties to the ICC Rome Statute gathered in New
York (USA) to address numerous issues central to the Court's operations. The ASP
is a pivotal event for the Coalition for the International Criminal Court, which
has participated in ASP sessions for well over a decade. More than 150 NGO
representatives contributed to discussions through side events, press
conferences, statements, and position papers. The eleventh session of the ASP
will take place in The Hague from 14 to 22 November 2012.

- GENERAL DEBATE:
The ASP opened with statements by: former ASP President Ambassador Christian
Wenaweser, new ASP President Ambassador Tiina Intelmann, the President of
Botswana Lt. General Seretse Khama Ian Khama, UN Deputy-Secretary General Dr.
Asha-Rose Migiro, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, ICC
President Judge Sang-Hyun Song, ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Chair of the
Board of Directors of the Trust Fund for Victims Elizabeth Rehn,
Prosecutor-elect Fatou Bensouda, and Chair of the Oversight Committee Roberto
Bellelli.

During the general debate, 38 statements were delivered by states
representatives. ICC states parties statements included those 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,
Croatia, Norway, Namibia, Nigeria, Lesotho, Democratic Republic of Congo,
Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Korea, Slovenia, France, Côte d’Ivoire, Spain,
Peru, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Maldives, Colombia, the Central African Republic,
Japan, and Tanzania. Poland spoke on behalf of the European Union, and the
United States did so as observer state.

Civil society representatives also made statements to 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
statements of Jalil Banesh (Afghanistan Watch), Kelly Askin (Open Society
Justice Initiative), Wilfredo Mendez (CIPRODEH) were circulated in writing.
These statements are available on the Coalition website at:
http://coalitionfortheicc.org/?mod=asp10&idudctp=21&show=all#21

Coalition members International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Ligue
ivoirienne des droits de l’Homme (LIDHO) and Mouvement ivoirien des droits
humains (MIDH) issued a joint statement in response to the address of Guillaume
Soro, Prime Minister and Head of the government of the Ivory Coast, to the
Assembly. The statement is available at
http://www.fidh.org/The-Ivory-Coast-and-the-ICC-The.

All other statements mentioned above are available on the ICC-ASP website at:
http://www.icc-cpi.int/nr/exeres/8e728ec3-5785-4127-83d7-d910d99df603.htm and
the Coalition’s website at: http://coalitionfortheicc.org/?mod=asp10

- ELECTIONS:
States parties elected 35 new officials resulting in the most significant change
in the ICC and ASP leadership since the Court’s establishment. Throughout its
Campaign on ICC Elections, the Coalition called for fair, transparent and
merit-based elections.

The Assembly elected Fatou Bensouda (The Gambia) to be the next ICC prosecutor
for a nine-year term beginning on 16 June 2012.

Six new judges were elected in 16 rounds, representing a third of the Court’s
full slate of 18 judges, namely: Miriam DEFENSOR-SANTIAGO (the Philippines),
Anthony Thomas Aquinas CARMONA (Trinidad and Tobago), Robert Fremr (Czech
Republic), Olga Venecia HERRERA CARBUCCIA (Dominican Republic), Howard MORRISON
(United Kingdom) and Chile EBOE-OSUJI (Nigeria).

Tiina Intelmann (Estonia) was elected as the new President of the Assembly for a
three year term. Markus Börlin (Switzerland) and Ken Kanda (Ghana) were elected
as Vice-Presidents, in The Hague and New York respectively.

The Assembly also elected the 18 members of the ASP Bureau - the ASP's executive
committee - for three-year terms, from the following states: Canada, Belgium,
Finland, Portugal, Samoa, Republic of Korea, Japan, Argentina, Trinidad and
Tobago, Chile, Brazil, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Gabon, Republic of
South Africa, Uganda, Nigeria.

Hugh ADSETT (Canada), Fawzi GHARAIBEH (Jordan) Samuel P.O. ITAM (Sierra Leone),
Mónica SÁNCHEZ IZQUIERDO (Ecuador), Elena SOPKOVÁ (Slovakia), and Masatoshi
SUGIURA (Japan) were elected to the ASP’s Committee on Budget and Finance (CBF)
– a subsidiary expert body set up to help the ASP with the budget.

It was agreed that Ireland will take the place of Switzerland on the oversight
committee of the permanent premises.

The ASP took steps towards the establishment of an advisory committee to
facilitate the election of ICC judicial candidates in future elections and
decided that the ASP Bureau should start consultations with States Parties to
evaluate and examine ways of strengthening future prosecutorial elections.

To read more on elections, visit:
http://www.coalitionfortheicc.org/?mod=elections

- BUDGET:
The Assembly approved a €108,800,000 budget for the ICC in 2012, as well as an
additional €2,200,000 to replenish the ICC’s Contingency Fund—additional
finances available to the Court as a last resort—bringing the total
appropriations approved for 2012 to €111,000,000.

The adoption of this compromise budget followed significant and lengthy
discussions between ICC states parties over the past number of days on the total
amount to be allocated to the Court in 2012 in the context of the global
financial climate and a “zero growth” position of some states.

The Assembly also noted the financial implications of the situations referred to
the Court by United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions 1593 (Darfur,
Sudan) and 1970 (Libya) and the provision in the Rome Statute for UN funding of
such referrals. The Assembly called on the Court to include this matter in its
institutional dialogue with the UN and to report thereon to the eleventh session
of the Assembly in 2012.

The Assembly requested the Registrar to finalize ongoing consultations with
relevant stakeholders and to present a proposal for a review of the ICC’s legal
aid system to the ASP Bureau by 15 February 2012.

Read the Coalition press release on the adoption of the budget:
http://www.coalitionfortheicc.org/documents/CICC_PR_ASP10__BUDGET_ADOPTION_FINAL
_211211.pdf
Read the Coalition’s budget and finance team recommendations:
http://coalitionfortheicc.org/documents/CICC_Budget_and_Finance_Team_Paper_ASP10
.pdf

- OMNIBUS RESOLUTION:
The ASP passed the omnibus resolution, formally titled “Strengthening the
International Criminal and the Assembly of States Parties”. It consists of 20
preambular paragraphs and 88 operative paragraphs, the resolution covers a wide
range of policy and practical issues relating to the ICC, the ASP and other
stakeholders. Issues addressed in the resolution include Rome Statute
ratification, complementarity, the Agreement on Privileges and Immunities,
cooperation, non-cooperation, institution-building, elections, governance,
oversight, strategic planning, victims and affected communities, the Trust Fund
for Victims, recruitment, gender and geographical representation, amongst
others.

- COOPERATION:
A stand-alone draft resolution on the issue of cooperation was adopted by the
Assembly, emphasizing the importance of cooperation and assistance from states
particularly with respect to arrests, as well as the impact that non cooperation
has on the Court’s mandate in particular relating to arrest of ICC suspects.

Read the Coalition’s Cooperation Team Paper on Cooperation at:
http://www.coalitionfortheicc.org/documents/CICC_Cooperation_Team_Paper_ASP_8_(2
).pdf

- TRUST FUND FOR VICTIMS:
This week Sweden announced a voluntary contribution of 10 million Swedish krona
- approximately 1.1 million Euros to the Trust Fund for Victims. For more
information, see: http://www.trustfundforvictims.org/

- COMMUNICATIONS AND OUTREACH:
In the omnibus resolution, states parties emphasized the need to continue and
adapt outreach activities in affected countries and effectively and efficiently
the Strategic Plan for Outreach, including where appropriate by early outreach
from the outset of the Court’s involvement, including during the preliminary
examination stage. States also mentioned the shared responsibility of the Court
and States Parties regarding public information and communications about the
Court, as well as activities around International Justice Day and the tenth
anniversary of the Court in 2012.

Read the Coalition’s Communications and Outreach team paper:
http://www.coalitionfortheicc.org/documents/CICC_Communications_Team_Paper_-_ASP
10.pdf

- OTHER ISSUES:
Other texts adopted by the ASP this week included an amendment to the rule 4 of
the Rules of Procedure and Evidence giving the ICC President the power to assign
judges to Chambers, a resolution on reparations, a resolution on the permanent
ICC premises, and the Report of the Credential Committee.

These resolutions will soon be made available on the ASP-ICC Website at:
http://www.icc-cpi.int/Menus/ASP/Sessions/Documentation/10th+Session/Tenth+sessi
on+of+the+Assembly+of+States+Parties.htm

II. RELATED DOCUMENTS AND NEWS COVERAGE

A. NGO PRESS STATEMENTS:

1. ‘NPWJ and NRPTT congratulate newly elected ICC Prosecutor and Judges,
but warn against budgetary cuts,’ Press statement, No Peace Without Justice,
New York, 21 December 2011, www.npwj.org

‘From 12 to 21 December 2011, the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) of the
International Criminal Court (ICC) met in New York for its tenth annual session.
This year, the ASP was led by a newly elected President, Ms Tiina Intelmann
(Estonia), two new Vice-Presidents, Ken Kanda (Ghana) and Markus Borlin
(Switzerland) and a new ASP Bureau. In addition to adopting the 2012 budget, the
ASP also elected the new ICC Prosecutor, six judges and six members of the
Committee on Budget and Finance (CBF).

Statement by Niccolo Figa-Talamanca, Secretary-General of No Peace Without
Justice:

“The 10th Assembly of States Parties of the International Criminal Court signs
the beginning of a new cycle in the life of the Court. We have a new ICC
Prosecutor, Ms Fatou Bensouda, who will be taking office in June 2012; a new
bench of judges; renovated leadership in the ASP; and six new CBF members, not
to mention the first trial completed and awaiting judgment and the first head of
State in custody in The Hague. No Peace Without Justice (NPWJ) and the
Nonviolent Radical Party, Transnational and Transparty (NRPTT) warmly welcome
this second generation of the Court and extend our deep appreciation to the
outgoing principals and elected officials.

“NPWJ and NRPTT particularly congratulate Ms Fatou Bensouda of the Gambia for
her unanimous election by acclamation. We have had the honour to work with Ms
Bensouda throughout these years in her position as ICC Deputy Prosecutor and
have always appreciated her outstanding qualifications and skills. As the
Prosecutor elect of this second generation court, she will have new challenges
in continuing to strengthen the ICC and its role in fighting impunity, promoting
peace and –critically– securing redress for victims. We look forward to
continuing to work with Ms Bensouda and the Office of the Prosecutor in the
coming years. We also take this opportunity to recognise the important work
conducted by outgoing Prosecutor Mr Luis Moreno-Ocampo in establishing a strong
and well-recognised International Criminal Court.

“While appreciating the spirit of collaboration and intensive work carried out
by the ICC States Parties during this session to reach a consensus decision on
the Court’s 2012 budget, we regret the lack of transparency in the conduct of
negotiations and the cuts applied to the budget. Alongside our NGO colleagues,
we have continuously called on ICC States Parties to provide the ICC with the
necessary financial resources to carry out its work and discharge its mandate.
This is particularly critical this year, with two new situations, a demonstrable
increase in judicial activity and a consequent increase in its general workload.
We are therefore deeply disappointed with the ASP’s decision to approve a budget
for next year that applies further cuts to those recommended by the CBF. We are
seriously concerned this could impede the Court in discharging its mandate to
deliver meaningful justice that has a real impact for victims and affected
communities.

“Notwithstanding these concerns, NPWJ and NRPTT welcome the recognition by
States of the importance of the Court’s strategic planning process on its field
operations, which is critical to increase the effectiveness, efficacy and impact
of the Court’s work. At the 10th Session of the ASP, ICC States Parties once
again called for an enhanced field presence of the Court, in order to optimise
the relevance and impact of the Court in countries where it carries out its
work. We call on the Court to continue enhancing its legacy in countries in
which it operates, including through a completion strategy, in consultation with
States Parties, civil society and other stakeholders. Finally, we welcome the
strong support expressed by States Parties for outreach, public information and
communications on the Court, encouraging the ICC to start outreach at the
earliest possible opportunity, including during the preliminary examinations
phase.” …’

2. ASP REACHES CONTROVERSIAL COMPROMISE ON ICC BUDGET: States Parties Adopt
International Criminal Court Budget for 2012; Coalition Says Budget Deal Could
Have Damaging Consequences For Court', Coalition for the International Criminal
Court, Press Release, 21 December 2011,
http://www.coalitionfortheicc.org/documents/CICC_PR_ASP10__BUDGET_ADOPTION_FINAL
_211211.pdf

B. OTHER DOCUMENTS AND NEWS

1. CICC recommendations, papers and statements:
http://coalitionfortheicc.org/?mod=asp10
2. ASP documents and journals:
http://www.icc-cpi.int/Menus/ASP/Sessions/Documentation/10th+Session/Tenth+sessi
on+of+the+Assembly+of+States+Parties.htm
3. “Good news from the International Criminal Court,” Mark Pack, Liberal
Democrat Voice, 21 December 2011,
http://www.libdemvoice.org/good-news-from-the-international-criminal-court-26260
.html
4. “The ICC budget: concerns over possible funding cuts,” Justice For All
(University of New South Wales), 20 December 2011,
http://www.justiceforall.unsw.edu.au/node/34
5. “Secretary-General Congratulates Fatou Bensouda on Her Election as New
Chief Prosecutor of International Criminal Court,” NewDesignWorld Press Center,
21 December 2011, http://www.newdesignworld.com/press/story/461989
6. “Nigerian Top-listed As World Court Judge,” Leadership, 21 December 2011,
http://www.leadership.ng/nga/articles/11121/2011/12/21/nigerian_top-listed_world
_court_judge.html
7. “Nel congratulates new ICC judges,” Bua News, 21 December 2011,
http://www.buanews.gov.za/news/11/11122114351001