NPWJ report on the fourteenth Assembly of States Parties of the International Criminal Court

7 February 2016


 
From 18 to 26 November 2015, the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) met in The Hague for its fourteenth annual session. The ASP was attended by States Parties, observer States, international organisations and non-governmental organisations, including a delegation from No Peace Without Justice (NPWJ), which was headed by its Secretary-General Niccolò Figa-Talamanca.
 
NPWJ convened one side-event on 25 November 2015 with the financial support of the European Union and co-sponsored by the Governments of Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Liechtenstein, Netherlands, United Kingdom and the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces on: “Accountability and the Prospect of a Political Solution to Conflict in Syria”, and organised an exhibition of the Caesar files on 18-20 November 2015. NPWJ also contributed to other side events, through the participation of Senior Program Associate Greta Barbone as a panellist in a Side event on “Enhancing the Court’s Impact on the Ground: A Strategic Approach to ICC Field Presences and External Operations” organised by the ICC Registry and the participation of Legal Counsel and Director of International Criminal Justice program, Alison Smith as chair of a side event on “Making Justice Count: Pushing Forward the ICC’s Local Impact” organised by Human Rights Watch, Denmark and the UK. Finally, NPWJ Secretary-General Niccolò Figa-Talamanca delivered a statement on behalf of the CICC during the closing session of the ASP.
 
The Assembly held discussions about the budget, complementarity, cooperation, efficiency and effectiveness of court’s proceedings and permanent premises as well as informal discussions on the “omnibus resolution”. The Assembly also discussed in plenary session two requests about the application and implementation of articles 97 and 98 of the Rome Statute and about the application of amended rule 68 made respectively by South Africa and Kenya. Many side events were organised during the ASP on various themes such as the crime of aggression, victims, sexual violence, the ICC’s field presence, etc.
 

 
NPWJ and the ICC
No Peace Without Justice, which is a founding member of the NGO Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC) and which has been one of the organisations at the forefront of promoting the establishment and entry into force of the permanent International Criminal Court (ICC) and continues to work for its universal ratification, has participated in every session of the ASP since its first session in 2002, the year the ICC was established.
 
 
For further information, please contact: Alison Smith (Director of International Criminal Justice Program) on asmith@npwj.org or +32-2-548 39 12 or Nicola Giovannini (Press & Public Affairs Coordinator) on ngiovannini@npwj.org or +32 2 548 39 15.