Roundtable on the International Criminal Court

Justice Without Frontiers, in partnership with NPWJ, organised a Roundtable on the International Criminal Court in Beirut on 11 March 2009. Participants included representatives of embassies, political parties, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the International Criminal Court and NGOs, as well as jurists, journalists and human rights activists.
 
The activity aimed at expanding awareness of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in Lebanon, promoting Lebanon's ratification of the Rome Statute and laying the groundwork for intensified campaigning once the new government is in place. The message on the ICC was heard by over 100 policy makers, members of civil society and the general public more broadly and established a firm grounding for future ICC work in Lebanon with all of those actors.
 
After the initial presentations, an interesting discussion ensued about the different subjects raised and other topics related to the ICC, including the recently-announced decision to issue an arrest warrant for President Al-Bashir of Sudan. The discussion highlighted the defence rights of President Al-Bashir and the role of the ICC’s defence offices in providing legal support to his lawyers. The role of the Security Council in relation to the ICC and the conditions for the establishment of jurisdiction by the ICC were also raised.