Welcome to our new website

Against all the odds

In 1995, a group of 25 human rights organizations began campaigning for a permanent international criminal court to hold individuals to account for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

And, against all the odds, it worked.

Few imagined where we would end up all these years later. Our Coalition now stands at 2,500 members, ranging from community and grassroots groups in 150 countries to prominent international human rights non-governmental organizations.

We are continuing to fight for global justice for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in national courts and through the International Criminal Court.

The real story behind the ICC and fight for global justice

Coming at a time of difficulty for the ICC system, and for the world more broadly, we believe that by telling the real story of international justice we can go some way to countering the profound mischaracterization of the ICC and its mission to bring both justice and peace to the world.

That story is of a global movement of civil society activists, working with small and middle sized ‘like-minded’ states, standing up to the rampant abuse of power and for the rights of victims around the world.

The Rome Statute is a blueprint for collective action to end the era of impunity. There is no immunity for heads of state or high officials for the worst crimes known to humanity. The ICC is independent of the UN and its Security Council. It has an independent prosecutor and independent judges. Unprecedented provisions allow for victims’ participation and reparation. 

Yes, access to justice remains uneven around the world. No, the ICC is not perfect. Civil society knows this as much as anyone. But the solution lies in more and better justice, not less.

As we approached launch date and were searching for the right message at this time of global instability, we looked back to the Rome Statute preamble and its declaration that "all peoples are united by common bonds." 

I can't think of a more apt way to describe the 20 years-plus of cooperation, collaboration and solidarity of our global civil society network - and by extension, all those working for a better world through the Rome Statute system.

It is in this spirit that we definitively reject attempts to undermine the ICC system, which is designed to protect our global human rights in the face of racism, discrimination and repression.

Key website features

In bringing the project of our new website to life, we have distilled the collective knowledge, amassed over many years, of our network. This include civil society member organizations, activists, staff, interns, and volunteers past and present. Their tireless campaigning has got us to where we are today.

We have made every effort to explain this often complex system of international justice in plain language, using visualizations and the latest digital technology and best practices.

As with our previous website, this platform will continue to provide a platform for all civil society members of our Coalition and their advocacy. We have also strengthened access to key information on the ICC and Rome Statute system.

(The old Coalition for the ICC website remains available as an archive.)

A key goal of the new site is to make international justice accessible and relevant to as wide an audience as possible. These may be legal concepts and developments, but they have real relevance to us all.

In this respect, we have put particular effort into telling the story of the fight for international justice, the ICC, the Coalition and to profiling civil society voices, along with testimonials of our supporters.

Our current blog has been completely transferred into the GlobalJustice news center of the new site. The old blog will still be available online for the time being, but we will no longer be posting there.  As we have been doing for over two years, the GlobalJustice news center will continue to feature civil society views and related international justice news on a weekly basis.

We have an extensive take action page that encourages social sharing, campaigning and direct action.

The resources page has a range of links to useful websites and a glossary of terms. 

The ICC situations and cases pages are fully up-to-date with key information and civil society advocacy.

All Coalition key advocacy on our strategic objectives is to be found under the following headings:

• Global justice – Our campaign for universal ICC membership and national laws for cooperation and national prosecutions;
• A strong ICC  – Our work for a fair, effective and independent Court;
• State support  – Our work to garner greater state support and cooperation for the Rome Statute system.

We have also changed our Twitter handle to @ngos4justice.

Special thanks

This site has been made possible through funding provided by a range of our supporters, and brought to life by the dedicated work of Coalition staff and interns. Special mention to the developers and designers that worked on the project at various points: Tamara de Haas, Peony Trinh, Kattia Ninahuanca and Damien Browning. Technical advice and support was provided by Spencer Lanning, Darragh Geraghty, Ruari Thunder, and Xavier Van Halen. The United by Common Bonds video is thanks to Lucas Almeida and Lucas Souza, with voice-over by Nyakwezi Katuliiba and original music generously provided gratis by Peter Power.

Please contact us if you have any questions or suggestions for improvement.

We look forward to engaging with you all in this new phase of our work. 

“Once in a lifetime, the longed-for tidal wave of justice can rise up. And hope and history rhyme.”

Change can happen.

Niall Matthews

Head of Communications

Coalition for the International Criminal Court