From 12 to 21 December 2011, New York is hosting the tenth session of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) to the Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which will convene 120 States Parties, as well as non States Parties with observer status such as the U.S.A.
At the opening of the session, the ASP is expected to elect by consensus Fatou Bensouda, current Deputy Prosecutor in charge of prosecutions, as the new Prosecutor of the ICC, to succeed Luis Moreno Ocampo whose mandate ends June 2012. At the same time, FIDH will be releasing its report: "The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) - 9 Years On. Analysis of the Prosecutorial Strategy and Policies of the Office of the Prosecutor (2003-2011)" [1]. In this report, FIDH takes stock of the prosecutorial strategy of the first Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC. FIDH and its permanent delegation to the ICC based in The Hague, has closely followed the development of the Office, and the evolution of its work, and made regular recommendations on policies, strategy and on activities undertaken in countries where crimes within the jurisdiction of the ICC have been committed. This report presents some developments, criticisms and accomplishments of the Office and on this basis, recommendations for the future.
During this year’s session the ASP is also slated to hold elections for six of the ICC’s 18 judges. FIDH calls on States to base their vote on the criteria of the Rome Statute, in particular the competence, independence, impartiality, and availability of candidates.
In addition, the FIDH urges States Parties to recognize the growing importance, impact and needs of the ICC in deliberations around the Court’s budget. Since its inception, the International Criminal Court has broadened the scope of its operations, having recently opened two new investigations in Libya and Côte d’Ivoire, bringing the number of investigations opened by the Office of the Prosecutor to seven. Over the past 9 years, 14 cases have been brought against 25 suspects, and 19 arrest warrants have been issued. Currently, 11 suspects remain at large and 8 situations are under preliminary analysis by the Office of the Prosecutor.
FIDH thus calls upon the ASP to strengthen its support to the ICC. "The cooperation of States with the ICC is the main challenge in the coming years. More than ever the ICC needs political, legal and financial support," said Souhayr Belhassen, FIDH President. Patrick Baudouin, FIDH Honorary President, also stated: "The level of States’ cooperation with the Court will be the main determinant and guarantor of the ICC’s increased impact in preventing and punishing the most serious crimes.”
FIDH urges States parties to guarantee the Court all necessary means of support, to execute the arrest warrants of the ICC, and to demonstrate their political support through their interventions and diplomatic actions. The ASP must assess this cooperation and propose ways to strengthen it as part of its permanent working group on this issue.
The adoption of the next annual budget of the Court will be one of the major points on the agenda of the ASP. An evaluation of its expenditures, which States want undertake in light of the global economic situation, should not impair the ICC’s activities, which have almost doubled over the past two years. States must preserve the Court’s ability to intervene in situations of serious crimes that fall within its mandate. States should not impede the rights of victims to be fully informed of the action of the Court and duly represented in its proceedings.
As Paulina Vega, Vice President of FIDH, declared, "States should support the Court and provide it with the means to take action. To recommend, as many States wish to do, "zero growth" of the Court’s budget while the Court’s needs are increasing, is an inducement for impunity."