20 years on, an ICC still in campaign for ratification

1 July 2022 By

for JusticeInfo.net

To mark the 20th anniversary of the only permanent international criminal court, active in The Hague since the ratification of the Rome Treaty by 60 states on 1 July 2002, our partners at Asymmetrical Aircuts have invited a panel of historical and still active activists of the ratification of the founding statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). On the frontline, in this podcast you will in particular hear from activists Oleksandra Matviychuk from the Center for Civil Liberties in Ukraine and Aurora Parong from the Philippines National Coalition for the ICC.

11 April 2002. Rome Statute is ratified and enters into force. © ICC-CPI

1 min 12Approximate reading time

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On the 20th anniversary of the ICC, with the help of the Coalition For the International Criminal Court, we brought together some of the people who have been campaigning for states to ratify from day one. What was the pull factor in the ratification of the Rome Statute? And what has changed over time? Is the goal of a universal court still attainable?

We hear from Brigitte Suhr, human rights and social justice consultant, about her early work with the Coalition For the International Criminal Court in gathering states under the ICC umbrella and why she is proud of their achievements. We also have Melissa Verpile, Director of Democratic Renewal and Human Rights Campaign at Parliamentarians for Global Action, explaining why the Rome Statute is still relevant in the face of all the mass atrocities which still remained unpunished today. Melissa also gives plenty of arguments to use in the debate on why small states should ratify if the big fish (China, Russia, and the US) do not.

The ICC at 20: elusive success, double standards and the “Ukraine moment”

ASYMMETRICAL HAIRCUTS

This podcast has been published as part of a partnership between JusticeInfo.net and Asymmetrical Haircuts, a podcast on international justice produced from The Hague by journalists Janet Anderson and Stephanie van den Berg, who retain full control and independence over the contents of the podcast.