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At UPR, Jamaica commits to ICC

Jamaica will join the ICC in the near future. That was the response of the Jamaican government to several recommendations that it ratify the Rome Statute made during the 22nd session of theUniversal Periodic Review (UPR) last month.

Representatives of Jamaica told states that its ratification process is in an advanced stage and it could become a member of the Court in the next year.

Through the UPR, each of the UN’s 193 member states has its human rights record assessed every four years. When a state is up for review, it is given recommendations to improve its record.

Prior to each session, the Coalition urges states to make ICC-related recommendations to those under review, including ratification of the ICC Rome Statute, ratification of the Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the Court and alignment of national law with the Rome Statute.

During the 22nd session, 61 ICC-related recommendations were made by 34 states to the 12 of the 14 under review:

Honduras, Panama and Jamaica accepted recommendations while Belarus rejected them. The remaining states are still considering recommendations and will have to respond by September.

Croatia and Malawi, both members of the ICC, received no recommendations related to the Court.

The United States did not outright reject recommendations to join the Court, but said that it is not considering it at this time.

Read the ICC-related provisional outcome of the 22nd UPR session.