World Bulletin
Crime of Aggression Tops Agenda
By Matthew Heaphy and Chris Miles
June 23 – The International Criminal Court review conference in Kampala, Uganda, ended in the early hours of June 12 with a long-sought agreement on an amendment that would bring the crime of aggression into the jurisdiction of the court.
The conference, which assessed the court’s progress in its first decade, also considered other amendment proposals, including expanding the court’s jurisdiction on the use of certain weapons as war crimes.
In addition, the conference decided to keep a provision in the court’s governing treaty, the Rome Statute, to allow new members to opt out of the court’s war crimes jurisdiction for seven years.
Moreover, the meeting marked an expansion of the United States’ relationship with the court and the countries that have joined it.
Up to 4,600 representatives from member and observer countries – including 20 members for the US government delegation – and nongovernmental organizations, among them UNA-USA, participated in the conference. It was held at a resort on the shores of Lake Victoria.
The crime of aggression – or the internationally recognized use of illegal force by a state leader – occupied much of the agenda of the second week. An intense effort by participants to achieve an outcome on the crime of aggression resulted in the recognition of a previously agreed definition of the crime and a limited reach for the court’s jurisdiction.
Under the amendment adopted, the court would not be able to bring cases against the citizens of countries that have not joined the court or against countries that opt out of the amendment. In addition, the amendment will not take effect until two-thirds of the court’s members authorize it sometime after Jan.1, 2017. The court currently investigates and prosecutes individuals for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The conference also adopted an amendment expanding the court’s jurisdiction over the use of certain weapons – poisons, gases and dum-dum bullets – as war crimes when committed in the context of a domestic conflict. The court already has jurisdiction over these weapons in international conflicts. This amendment will apply only to the nationals and territories of countries that accept it, and it will not be able to reach the nationals of countries that have not joined the court, like the US.
Progress With the US
The US, at the conference as an observer nation with most rights but voting, participated in all aspects of the meeting and pledged to continue its re-engagement with the court. William Lietzau, a senior Pentagon officer who was part of the American delegation, stated at the conference that the US recognized the effect of its absence from court negotiations since 2002 and during most of the George W. Bush administration. Many other countries in Kampala appreciated his statement that the US would have to live with decisions that were made during the US absence from the court.
The US presented itself as a strong supporter of international justice at the conference, saying it would seek to cooperate more widely, albeit within US legal restrictions.
Matthew Heaphy is deputy convener of the American Nongovernmental Organizations Coalition for the International Criminal Court (AMICC), a UNA-USA program.
Chris Miles is a member of the UNA-USA publications department.
Keywords: ICC, Rome Statute, crime of aggression
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