Building or breaking international criminal justice in Africa?
What hurdles do African states face in cooperating with the ICC and what can be done?
Date: 2016-11-18
Time: 18:00 to 20:00
Venue: King William-Alexander, World Forum, The Hague
The International Criminal Court (ICC) was established as a court of last resort. For international justice to work, there must be cooperation between states, and between states and international institutions like the ICC. Cooperation is never easy, and this is especially true in Africa where most of the ICC’s cases are located.
Challenges include the unresolved issue of immunity for sitting heads of state and the scope of consultations under Article 97 of the Rome Statute, which contributed to three African states’ recent decision to withdraw from the ICC. New issues from the 14th ICC Assembly of States Parties (ASP), such as the court’s draft Arrest Strategy, have further strained cooperation between the African Union (AU), some African states and the ICC.
This side-event at the 15th ICC ASP will reflect on developments relating to cooperation and complementarity, focusing on what African states have done well in the fight against impunity and the hurdles they face in cooperating with the ICC. Proposals will be made for how to break the deadlock between the ICC and the AU.
Chair: Helene Cisse, International Barrister, Victim Representative, Darfur
Speakers:
Ottilia Anna Maunganidze, Senior Researcher, ISS
Dr Max du Plessis, Research Associate, ISS
Eric-Aimé Semien, Researcher and Assistant Professor, Observatoire Ivoirien des Droits de l’Homme
Attendance at this side event requires prior accreditation from the Secretariat of the ICC Assembly of States Parties: Phone: +31 70 799 6500, Email: [email protected]
This event is part of a series of side events at the 2016 ICC Assembly of States Parties, other events in the series:
ICC’s children policy: an essential response to child victims
Protecting human rights defenders: what can states parties do?
