27 November 2024.
ICC in 2024: A Year Marked by Progress and Intensifying Threats
ASP23 unfolds against a backdrop of threats to human rights and international justice. From widespread atrocities in Palestine, Sudan, Myanmar, and Ukraine to oppressive regimes in Afghanistan and Venezuela, these crises reflect a stark disregard for international criminal, humanitarian and human rights law, with devastating impacts on civilians, especially women and children. Israeli attacks in Palestine and Lebanon have caused tens of thousands of deaths while ongoing violence in Sudan has displaced over 8 million people since April 2023. Meanwhile, in Afghanistan, the Taliban’s draconian policies continue to target women, LGBTQI+ individuals, and ethnic and religious minorities, and in Venezuela, repression has escalated amounting to crimes against humanity, according to a United Nations Fact-Finding Mission.
The proportion of the world engulfed by conflict has grown 65% over the past three years, according to the latest Conflict Intensity Index. As the world grapples with escalating armed conflicts and widespread human rights violations, ASP23 represents a crucial opportunity for the ICC States Parties to reaffirm their commitment to accountability, ensuring that impartial, independent, and victim-centred justice remains at the heart of the Court’s operations. With the stakes higher than ever, the outcomes of ASP23 will determine the ICC’s ability to provide timely and meaningful justice to victims of the gravest international crimes.
This year is marked by contrasting realities: while important milestones have been made in advancing justice and accountability through ICC mechanisms, there have also been intensifying threats that undermine the Court’s operations and credibility. Significant achievements include the ratification by Armenia and Ukraine of the Rome Statute; the ICC’s first conviction in the Mali situation; an unprecedented reparations order in the Ongwen case; and arrest warrants issued in the Ukraine, Palestine, and Libya situations, and requested in the Bangladesh/Myanmar situation.
Yet, the ICC continues to face significant challenges that hinder its mandate, including external threats such as political interference, the United States’ Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act, cyberattacks, and espionage allegations, but also internal challenges, namely a workplace culture in crisis. Both the external and internal threats facing the ICC are part of a broader global trend of attacks on justice and accountability, with threats against civil society and human rights defenders also increasing in recent years. In addition, victims’ rights under the Rome Statute continue to face significant obstacles, such as restricted access to information, limited participation in proceedings, and inadequate legal support. A lack of cooperation and meaningful complementarity efforts by some states further undermines the Court’s mandate and the pursuit of justice.
In this context, the Court faces heightened scrutiny, demanding increased protection: States Parties must mobilise to defend the Court’s independence and uphold their commitment to victim-centred justice.
Strengthening justice amid global crises: FIDH recommendations for ASP23
1. Stand up and defend the ICC and Human Rights Defenders against external and internal threats.
2. Uphold victims’ Rome Statute rights taking an inclusive, transparent, and intersectional approach to information and outreach, participation, and legal representation.
3. Champion and drive accountability through state cooperation and genuine domestic proceedings.
The position paper also contains an overview of FIDH’s work on international justice throughout 2024.
FIDH’s participation in ASP23
FIDH will participate in ASP23 with a delegation headed by Oleksandra Matviichuk, FIDH Vice President and Head of the Center for Civil Liberties (Ukraine). This delegation will include representatives of FIDH’s international secretariat and member organisations from around the world.
FIDH will participate in plenary sessions and actively advocate for policies and activities that put victims at the centre. FIDH will also co-host a series of side events, addressing critical issues such as prioritisation and the quality of atrocity documentation, accountability pathways for Sudan’s victims, rebuilding trust in victims’ rights under the Rome Statute, and the political intimidation of ICC officials. Notably, at a side event on 6 December, FIDH will also launch a new report: "Civil Society and the ICC: Pathways to Collaborative and Genuine Engagement" which explores the vital roles of civil society organisations (CSOs) in supporting the ICC’s mandate and ways to strengthen CSO-ICC interactions.
1) Protecting and Defending Human Rights Defenders and Civil Society: Advancing the Role of ICC States Parties and the Court
Monday, 2 December 2024 | 13:15 – 14:45 CET | Antarctica Room, World Forum, The Hague
Co-hosted by Costa Rica, Finland, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, Al-Haq, Al-Haq Europe, Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights, the Coalition for the Prevention of Hazara Genocide, the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC), FIDH, Lawyers for Justice in Libya, Palestinian Centre for Human Rights and the Transitional Justice Coordination Group-Afghanistan.
2) Prioritization criteria, I-Doc, and the quality of atrocity documentation
Monday, 2 December 2024 | 13:15 – 14:45 CET | Room Europe 1&2, World Forum, The Hague.
Co-hosted by Norway, Republic of Korea, Centre for International Law Research and Policy (CILRAP), Coalition for International Criminal Justice (CICJ), Commission for International Justice and Accountability (CIJA), Fondacija Fond za humanitarno pravo (Foundation Humanitarian Law Center), Global Rights Compliance (GRC), Human Rights Law Centre (University of Nottingham), FIDH, Norwegian Helsinki Committee, and Truth Hounds.
3) Justice for Sudan’s Victims & Survivors: Mapping Accountability Pathways
Tuesday, 3 December 2024 | 18:15 – 19:45 CET | Europe 1&2 Room, World Forum, The Hague.
Co-hosted by South Africa, Sweden, African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS), FIDH, REDRESS, the Sudanese Human Rights Monitor (SHRM), and Darfur Women Action Group (DWAG).
4) Victims’ Rome Statute Rights at the ICC: Rebuilding Trust & Advancing Justice
Thursday, 5 December 2024 | 08:30 – 09:45 CET | Antarctica Room, World Forum, The Hague
Co-hosted by Finland, Ireland, South Africa, CICC, FIDH and REDRESS.
5) Obstructing Justice and Promoting Impunity: Political Pressure and Intimidation of International Criminal Court Officials
Thursday, 5 December 2024 | 13:15 – 14:45 CET | Oceania Foyer, World Forum, The Hague
Co-hosted by Bolivia, Chile, the State of Palestine, Al-Haq Organization for Human Rights, Al-Haq Europe, Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights, International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights.
6) Voices of the Voiceless: Addressing Political Prisoners and the Criminalization of Dissent in Venezuela
Thursday, 5 December 2024 | 13:15 – 14:45 CET | Antarctica Room, World Forum, The Hague
Co-hosted by Canada, Foro Penal, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights and FIDH
7) Gender Justice and the Crimes Against Humanity Treaty Initiative
Friday, 6 December 2024 | 13:15 – 14:45 CET | Oceania Foyer, World Forum, The Hague
Co-hosted by the United Kingdom, Crimes Against Humanity Initiative at Washington University, Global Justice Center (GJC), FIDH, Physicians for Human Rights, Promise Institute for Human Rights at UCLA Law and Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice
8) Civil Society and the ICC: Pathways to Collaborative and Genuine Engagement
Friday, 6 December 2024 | 13:15 – 14:45 CET | Antarctica Room, World Forum, The Hague
Co-hosted by Costa Rica, Finland, South Africa, Slovenia, CICC and FIDH