ICC AGENDA 2017

In 2016, Palestine became the 30th state to ratify the Kampala Amendments, allowing ICC member states to begin as of 1 January to consider the vote to activate ICC jurisdiction over the crime of aggression. This year a working group facilitation will explore the process — 2/3 of the ICC member states must vote to allow the amendment to enter into force. Several Coalition members have been following developments around the crime of aggression for some time, so this will be an issue to follow closely this year.

Last year was shadowed by sudden announcements from South Africa, Burundi and The Gambia of their intent to withdraw from the Rome Statute – but there was also a strong show of solidarity and support for the Court. That support continued into 2017 as a new Gambian president renounced his predecessor's decision and confirmed the country would remain in the ICC by a 10 February notice to the United Nations. South Africa's withdrawal path would take a turn in the coming weeks.

On 19 October 2016, judges found Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo and four associates guilty of offences against the administration of justice. Considered a key verdict in the Court’s efforts to bolster the integrity of its cases, the conviction relates to false witness testimonies and bribery – coordinated by Bemba and members of his defence team in the Central African Republic situation’s The Prosecutor v. Bemba case. ICC member states may have their own role to play as they continue to consider procedural amendments aimed at allowing the Court to address witness-tampering allegations while continuing to bring perpetrators of the worst crimes to justice.

At the end of March, all eyes are on Jordan, a forerunner of the Rome Statute system in the Middle East and from which ICC suspect and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir received an invitation to attend the Arab League Summit. About a week later, South Africa appears for an ICC public non-compliance hearing to determine whether the ICC member state failed in its obligation to arrest al-Bashir when he visited for the African Union Summit in June 2015. The 7 April hearing is the first real chance to observe how the ICC deals with serious issues of state non-cooperation. Civil society members involved in related domestic proceedings, like the Southern Africa Litigation Centre, submitted their views to the ICC. Meanwhile outside the courtroom, the Darfur Women’s Action Group holds a 24-hour hunger strike in D.C. to urge the U.S. to take action against genocide in Darfur.

With terms of a third of the 18 ICC judges expiring next year, the Coalition campaign around the 2017 judicial elections kicks into high gear after the nomination period opens on 24 April. As part of its recurring advocacy during elections’ cycles, the Coalition pushes ICC member states to nominate and elect only the most highly qualified candidates and to ensure a merit-based process leading to gender and geographical representation on the ICC bench.

With the ICC seen as a gold standard for gender parity among international judicial organizations, and only one woman among the 12 remaining judges at year’s end, much rides on states’ ability to nominate experienced female candidates. The nomination period, meant to close 17 July, can be extended to August at latest. Without endorsing individual candidates, the Coalition conducts advocacy to governments, disseminates factsheets about the elections process, scouts candidates and reinforces ASP practices intended to promote quality and transparency.

June features the annual week-long roundtable between NGOs and officials from across the ICC organs and sections. The roundtable takes place in advance of the ICC judicial recess, scheduled from 22 July to 13 August 2017 - making the meeting an important opportunity to mutually reflect on the Court’s activities and challenges in the first half of the year, and to tailor civil society priorities and advocacy for the second half and lead-up to the December ASP session in New York.

Coordinated for civil society by the Coalition Secretariat, and hosted by the Court, the roundtable addresses topics like securing accountability for sexual and gender-based crimes (SGBC), among others. With a first SGBC conviction by the Court in 2016, numerous ICC situations involving SGBC allegations, and the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict set for 19 June, the roundtable represents an opportunity for civil society to get updates on the implementation of the Prosecutor’s 2014 policy on investigating and prosecuting SGBC; for others it may be a chance to inquire about the possibility of bringing ICC cases for sexual violence in places like northern Mali.

International Justice Day (IJD) commemorates the historic adoption of the Rome Statute on 17 July 1998. It marks the need to continue the fight against impunity and bring justice to victims of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. "On the anniversary of the adoption of the ICC Rome Statute, all states—those party to the treaty and others—should renew commitments to cooperate with this historic and still new system of international criminal justice through all available avenues, from national laws to transnational agreements," said William R. Pace, convenor of the Coalition for the ICC. IJD is a reminder for all states committed to fair and impartial justice for victims of the worst crimes around the world: to urgently ensure continued support for the international justice system. IJD is also a reminder for the Court’s strongest advocates, civil society: to stand firm in their original commitment in getting the ICC established, now to advance a Rome Statute system of international justice that works for all.

The ICC typically releases its annual budget proposal in August of the preceding year. The 2018 proposal will as usual be based on self-assessed needs for investigations, proceedings and operations of the Court. The proposal will then be submitted to the Committee on Budget and Finance (CBF) for its recommendations, which usually propose savings related to over-lapping activities, and anything else the CBF assesses in its capacity as the Assembly’s elected and independent financial expert body. The budget is then submitted a few months later to the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) to review and vote on.

During last year’s Assembly session, the Coalition for the ICC was distressed by reports that, while many member states supported an increase of the Court’s activities, a small minority once again demanded a “zero nominal growth” budget - or similar budget cutting proposals. Obvious needs for an increase in Court funding in 2017 may have been frustrated, but ICC member states have another chance to put politics aside and align themselves with one of the highest priorities: responding to global demands for justice, which states cannot expect and demand the Court to do while reducing its resources.

For effective and efficient justice, we campaign for ICC member states to nominate and elect only the most highly qualified candidates to the ICC and its governing body, the ASP. Starting in April and May, the Coalition for the ICC campaigns for this to be achieved through fair, transparent, informed, and merit-based nominations and elections processes. The nomination period this year runs from 24 April to 17 July, with limited possibilities for extensions into August.

Many were expecting to see the ICC withdrawals of three African states take effect beginning in October: Burundi; South Africa; and then The Gambia in November. By March 2017, only Burundi remained on the watch-list (see February and March). Taking effect one calendar year from a state’s submission of its intention to withdraw notice to the UN, withdrawal does not erase pre-existing obligations as an ICC member state. In the case of Burundi, members of local civil society have viewed the year leading up to 27 October 2017 as a ticking clock for the ICC Prosecutor to open a formal investigation and create some such obligations around the situation in the country.

Killings, imprisonment, torture, forced disappearances, rape and other forms of sexual violence that followed the Burundian president’s decision to run for a third term in 2015 have already become the subject of an ICC preliminary examination. After engaging with the Committee Against Torture about alleged government abuses, the Burundian national Coalition for the ICC was dissolved, and its coordinator Lambert Nigarura and several colleagues disbarred. For human rights defenders like the Burundian national Coalition, the plea for justice in Burundi has become a truly personal one.

The Trust Fund for Victims (TFV) is an independent institution working in tandem with the ICC and largely known for its mandate to help fund and administer Court-ordered reparations to victims covered by ICC convictions. Prior to and after a conviction, however, the TFV has another important mandate toward communities affected by ICC crimes in investigation countries: to enable physical and/or psychological rehabilitation or material support. To administer these programs, which are currently only operating in the DRC and Uganda, the TFV works with local – often grassroots – implementing partners. The last of those programs operating at the beginning of 2017 are slated to conclude in November. It will be more crucial than ever this year for international justice stakeholders, and foremost states, to contribute to the close-to-depleted voluntary fund to ensure that this support not only remains available, but that it can extend further – especially with depleted funds also expected to go to reparations cases in the DRC, CAR and Mali situations.

In addition to the all-important ICC judicial election, this year’s ASP session marks the election of the new ASP Bureau, a group of 18 ICC member states led by a president and coordinated by two vice-presidents, as well as preparations for the 2018 election of the ICC Registrar. The geographically balanced Bureau is responsible for ICC governance, including ensuring the Court remains independent and impartial; the ICC Registrar is meanwhile central to the Court’s administration and coordination between the three organs: the Registry; the Office of the Prosecutor; and the Judiciary. In the case of the Registrar, the ASP this year decides on recommendations for how to conduct the election in early 2018, which it then submits to the 18 ICC judges to inform their vote – making the candidates emerging from the ICC judicial elections all the more vital. Each of these changes has potential to significantly impact the policies of the ICC and its member states moving forward.