Asia-Pacific
A region with a lot to offer
Asia-Pacific is one of the world’s most diverse regions, with a wide range of ethnic, religious, political and economic interests. This means the region features a range of different approaches to human rights, accountability, and the rule of law.
With 17 International Criminal Court (ICC) member states, the Asia-Pacific region has somewhat lagged behind in the fight for global justice as set out by the Rome Statute. To ensure the region is adequately represented at the ICC and in the Rome Statute system, an active civil society network is working throughout Asia and the Pacific to dispel myths about the impact of the ICC on state sovereignty and mainstream accountability throughout the region.
Despite some Asian states’ strides toward becoming economic and political global powerhouses, international justice advocates and victims’ communities continue to call for accountability for grave human rights abuses in a region that has been home to some of the world’s most protracted armed conflicts.
Progress around this goal can be seen in Japan’s leading role in the Rome Statute system, Cambodia’s ICC membership as well as domestic efforts to prosecute Khmer Rouge leaders for historical crimes, and the leading role Asians have played as ICC judges and employees of the Court.
Meanwhile, atrocities in East Timor in 1999 saw the United Nations establish a temporary tribunal to punish those responsible, demonstrating the keen interest in international justice and accountability for serious offenses in the region.
Many countries in the Asia-Pacific region face crucial decisions on how to address their violent pasts while building towards sustainable peace and security. As envisaged by the Rome Statute system, the Coalition supports local discourses that prioritize victims’ perspectives and ending the culture of impunity through frameworks that respect fundamental rights and the rule of law.