As a result of the large number of people attending, and the need for simultaneous translation in three languages (English, Spanish and French), the seminar on the International Criminal Court (ICC) had to be moved from the classroom where it was scheduled to take place, to a modern auditorium in the Catholic University (PUC), the main location for activities during the third World Social Forum in Porto Alegre.
Entitled "Globalizing justice: the International Criminal Court", the seminar, which took place during the morning of Monday 27, offered a panel made up of activists and international lawyers who described the process that led to the creation of this permanent, international and independent institution. The ICC is the first court of this type, created to judge individuals accused of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Court’s jurisdiction over these crimes began on 1 July 2002 when the Rome Statute -so far ratified by 87 countries- came into force. The first judges to sit on the Court will be elected in February 2003. The creation of the ICC, which has its headquarters in The Hague (Netherlands), has been described as the greatest advance in international law since the creation of the United Nations (UN).
Present at the seminar was William Pace, who for the last eight years has been the General Coordinator of the NGO Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC), and is also Director of the World Federalist Movement-Institute for Global Policy (WFM-IGP). Pace explained the general powers that the ICC has: it cannot judge states, but only individuals who commit crimes against humanity, regardless of the post they occupy or the authority vested in them. He also warned that there are countries which are afraid of the powers of the ICC and will attempt to kill the initiative "before it begins". He reminded the audience that in just 18 days’ time the first 18 judges (including women) would be elected to sit on the first chamber, which will begin functioning in April. Once the Court’s public prosecutors have been elected, it is estimated that by August this year there will be between 80 and 100 judges and prosecutors operating in the ICC.
"It is very important for global civil society to know and understand what the ICC and Rome Statute are," Pace stressed, "in order to bring pressure to bear on those countries that have not yet given their support." Of the 87 countries that have ratified the Treaty, just five have made the changes to their national legislation that will be needed to support the cases brought before the ICC. In Pace’s view, achieving those changes to domestic legislation is the challenge for the next five years. Only if this is achieved, he pointed out, will there be ever fewer places on earth where a war criminal can hide to escape trial.
Strategic optimism
Other speakers at the seminar were Sidiki Kaba, president of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), who also acted as chair; Raji Sourani, director of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights; Alirio Uribe, president of the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective, Colombia, and vice-president of the FIDH; and Jeanne Sulzer, the International Justice Programme officer at the FIDH.
The Palestinian Sourani stressed that, in the current conflictive international scenario, either the Rome Statute had to exist or else the law of the jungle would hold sway. "The vast majority has voted for this law," he reminded the public. However, he expressed his concern that in his region -the Middle East- only Jordan has ratified the Statute. "We aren’t proud," he said, "we need to coordinate our efforts." And he dismissed as "not legitimate" the two excuses usually given by "Arab demagogues" to justify not adhering to the Statute -the fact that neither the United States nor Israel have signed. In any case, Sourani stated, it is necessary to maintain an attitude of "strategic optimism" in order to advance the process further.
Jeanne Sulzer told the audience of the United States' firm opposition to the ICC, in particular since it launched its global war against terrorism following the events of 11 September 2001.
Sulzer pointed out that in the past the USA has supported the creation of other international tribunals, such as the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, and that it can only be assumed that the USA's current rejection of the ICC (which cannot judge crimes that took place before 1 July 2002) has to do with George W Bush's plans for the future. "The best way of combating [the US position] is by demonstrating that the battle has already been won," she said, and ended by adding that the ICC is already an irreversible reality.
>>Read Sourani's full statement
