On 9 October, the U.S. Secretary of State, Michael Pompeo announced that the U.S. would impose visa sanctions on “any and all ICC officials determined to be directly responsible for an ICC investigation of U.S. personnel, or of allied personnel without our allies’ consent."
Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC) published its press release on 10 October 2019 stating that the renewed threat by the U.S. government to impose more sanctions against Judges and Prosecutors working for the ICC sets a dangerous and highly damaging precedent.
The CICC is a global network of more than 2,500 civil society organizations in 150 countries. Its member organizations have asked the U.S. government to recant its ICC sanctions policy.
On 30 September 2019, ICC Pre Trial Chamber I (PTC I) confirmed the charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes, allegedly committed in Timbuktu, Mali, against Mr. Al Hassan.
The alleged crimes include religious and gender-based persecution, torture, rape, sexual slavery, forced marriages, cruel treatment, among others. This is not the first time “forced marriage” have been confirmed by the ICC judges as a crime against humanity.
The judgment is yet to be published. The Court only published a redacted version and said that the full decision will be published at a later date. The reasons for this delay are unclear.
On September 6 2019, Pre-Trial Chamber (PTC) I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) handed down a majority decision, ruling that the Court may exercise its jurisdiction over the alleged deportation of the Rohingya people from Myanmar to Bangladesh.
The ground-breaking decision established that if an element of a Rome Statute crime takes place in the territory of a State Party to the Statute, the ICC will have jurisdiction over such crimes, regardless of whether other elements took place in the territory of a non-State Party.
On 27 August 2019, the Bar Council Human Rights Committee (HRC) organised a lecture and forum on the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC) Auditorium.
This event featured the relaunch of the Malaysian Chapter of the Coalition for the ICC (CICC Malaysia). The lecture was followed by a lively and fruitful Public Forum on the ICC. The panellist shared their views about the importance and benefits of accession and ratification of the Rome Statute of the ICC. They advocated for wider engagement and dissemination of accurate information regarding the Rome Statute.
The Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC) and its member organizations sent a letter to the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, calling for prompt ratification of the ICC Rome Statute and to take all necessary measures to fight impunity for grave international crimes at the domestic level.
Coalition for the ICC also published a press release stating, "Ukraine must join the Rome Statute of the ICC and commit to ending impunity for perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide."
The Coalition is an independent civil society network fighting for global justice for grave crimes through the International Criminal Court and national courts. The Coalition does not endorse, promote or take a position on any ICC situations, investigations or prosecutions. Individual Coalition members may endorse referrals, provide legal and other support on investigations, or develop partnerships with local and other organizations in the course of their efforts.
Disclaimer
This email is an informal and unofficial summary of news coverage. The Coalition does not take a position on or endorse any articles summarized in this email. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, the Coalition is not responsible for any omissions or inaccuracies contained within source articles or this email, which is provided for informational purposes only.
The content of this email is not exhaustive - please send us material for inclusion.
