African states that have ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) will gather at the invitation of Botswana and Liechtenstein to discuss the Kampala Amendments to the Rome Statute, with the focus on the crime of aggression.
This will be the first meeting of African signatories to the Rome Statute on the continent, Human Rights Watch officials told Xinhua on Friday.
This event will be held on April 15-16 with the support from the Global Institute for the Prevention of Aggression.
It will be part of the global campaign for ratification and implementation of the Kampala amendments on the crime of aggression.
The workshop is to recall the historic importance of the amendments to the Rome Statute adopted in Kampala in June 2010, and to assist African states in the process of their ratification and implementation.
Speakers include Botswana President Seretse Ian Khama, as well as the foreign and justice ministers of Botswana and Liechtenstein.
In addition to state representatives, several prominent academics, judges and representatives of civil society will also be present.
“At the Review Conference in Kampala, Uganda, in June 2010, States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) adopted amendments, including those that will allow the ICC to investigate and prosecute those most responsible for committing the crime of aggression.
“The crime of aggression is committed by leaders of States involved in the illegal use of force against other States,” said Elise Keppler, senior international justice counsel at Human Rights Watch.
Source:nation.co.ke
