news
- Book Release (2009)
Building a Future on Peace and Justice
Kai Ambos; Judith Large; Marieke Wierda, (Eds.)
Studies on Transitional Justice, Peace and Development
The Nuremberg Declaration on Peace and Justice
Online and hardcover version available
- Press Release
June 20, 2008:
Press Statement: Nuremberg Declaration on Peace and Justice (pdf; 10 KB)
- Press Release
June 27, 2007:
Press Statement at the conclusion of the Conference (pdf; 60 KB)
- Press Release
June 25, 2007:
Federal Minister Steinmeier opens Peace Conference in Nuremberg: "Peace and reconciliation cannot be achieved by thinking in black and white" (pdf; 10 KB)
Parallel workshops
Tuesday, 26 June 2007, 14.30 - 18.00 h
Workshop 7:
The Impact of the International Criminal Court (ICC)
Panel:
Chair: Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al-Hussein, Ambassador of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to the United States of America
Experts:
1. Paul Seils, International Criminal Court
2. Suliman Baldo (TBC), International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
3. Barney Afako (TBC), Independent Expert, Uganda
4. Tatiana Carayannis, Independent Expert, Democratic Republic Congo
English
Interpreting service into German
Workshop abstract:
The coming into force of the Rome Statute in 2002 will have dramatic impact on the question of peace and justice for the years to come. For States Parties to the Rome Statute, their legal obligations may restrict their ability to achieve negotiated solutions that forego justice. It remains to be seen how they will adjust to this reality. For the International Criminal Court itself, much of its mandate will entail dealing with ongoing conflicts. The early situations before the Court all pertain to ongoing conflicts, including the Democratic Republic of Congo; Northern Uganda; and Darfur, Sudan. All of these situations are throwing up complex scenarios of timing of arrest warrants; outreach; issues of state cooperation; complementarity (i.e. whether a state is itself wiling and able genuinely to investigate or prosecute); and victim and witness protection. The Court itself has a capacity to assess these issues in the form of a division on jurisdiction, complementarity and cooperation (JCCD).
Northern Uganda, in particular, has thrown up complex questions of how the Court should carry out its work while there are ongoing peace negotiations between the warring sides at Juba. Some, such as the International Crisis Group, have suggested that the Security Council should defer the arrest warrants of leaders of the Lord's Resistance Army in Northern Uganda for a year under Article 16 of the Rome Statute. Others have suggested that Uganda should put forward an alternative for trials by the ICC, which in turn has sparked debate on what such alternatives might be. Some Ugandans have said they prefer traditional justice measures to an international court. They see the Court as an instrument of the government and accuse it of bias for not having indicted members of the Ugandan army.
There is also a clause in the Rome Statute which refers to halting proceedings in "the interests of justice". The Prosecutor's office has recently issued a policy paper on this phrase. In order to measure this, the Prosecutor and Pre-Trial Chamber should consider the interests of victims. How should the interests of victims be measured? How should the interests of victims in both peace and justice be taken into account? How can the Court enforce arrest warrants?
Equally difficult questions are arising in DRC, where some have expressed disappointment that the Court has only charged one Ituri commander, and only with the crime of child recruitment. This is while impunity remains rife in Congo and unrest in the streets of Kinshasa prevails. Questions of local perception and high expectations of which role the Court should play further complicate the work of the Court. How should the Court decide complex questions of sequencing of cases?
While Sudan to date has given limited cooperation in the case of the Darfur investigation, this cooperation may end now after the ICC Prosecutor has requested that a senior government official be summoned to appear before the Court to answer to charges. Meanwhile, the violence in Darfur still looms, although some hope that ICC activities will serve as a deterrent. Controversy has also surrounded the possible deployment of a peacekeeping force in Sudan, which the Sudanese government says it opposes in part because it may cooperate with the ICC. Others ask whether the investigation of senior Sudanese officials will help or hinder implementation of the faltering Darfur Peace Agreement, or indeed a new agreement.
The cases before the ICC should also be viewed in terms of regional dynamics. For instance, Uganda's involvement in the DRC or Sudan's support through the years of the Lord's Resistance Army all complicate further the reach of the Court. These kinds of issues will be discussed in this workshop.
Workshop responsible:
Chaired by the government of Jordan with support from the International Centre for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)