Prosecuting International Crimes in Africa - PULP - University of ...

258 Chapter 12
2.4 The Review Conference and positive complementarity
The Review Conference of the Rome Statute of the ICC, which took place
from 31 May to 11 June 2010 in Kampala, Uganda, offered an opportunity
for participants and those interested in international justice generally to
review the activities of the ICC since 2002 and chart a way forward for the
future engagements of the court. The official Review Conference was
divided into two major parts. The first was a stocktaking exercise: cooperation;
complementarity; peace and justice and the impact of the Rome
Statute on victims and affected communities. The second part was the
adoption of the definition of the crime of aggression 60 and proposed
amendments to articles 8 61 and 124 62 of the Rome Statute. However, there
were additional meetings organised by non-governmental organisations
(NGOs), civil society organisations (CSOs) and government officials to
coincide with the Review Conference. 63
Prior to the start of the Review Conference, CSOs had convened an
international symposium on the ICC stocktaking process from 27-28 May
2010 in Kampala. The NGOs issued a communiqué in which they
recommended that state parties to the Rome Statute should urgently adopt
laws implementing the Rome Statute and that the ICC should submit an
annual report on its activities to the ASP to catalyse national investigation
and prosecution efforts. 64 At its seventh plenary meeting, held on 3 June
2010, the Review Conference conducted a stocktaking exercise on the
issue of complementarity during which several participants reported on
their experiences relating to the investigation and prosecution of crimes at
the national level. Subsequently, a resolution was adopted on 8 June 2010,
calling on the ICC, states parties and other stakeholders, including
international organisations and CSOs, to explore additional ways in which
60
61
See n 4 above.
The Review Conference amended art 8 to include the prohibition of ‘employing poison
or poisoned weapons; asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases, and all analogous
liquids, materials or devices; bullets which expand or flatten easily in the human body,
such as bullets with a hard envelope which does not entirely cover the core or is pierced
with incisions’ in any conduct that took place in the context of and was associated with
armed conflict not of an international character’. See Resolution RC/Res5 adopted at
the 12th plenary meeting, on 10 June 2010, http://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/asp_docs/
62
Resolutions/RC-Res.5-ENG.pdf (accessed 11 August 2010).
The Review Conference retained art 124 and decided to review its provisions during the
14th session of the Assembly of States Parties. See Resolution RC/Res 4, adopted at the
11th plenary meeting on 10 June 2010, available at http://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/
63
asp_docs/Resolutions/RC-Res.4-ENG.pdf (accessed 11 August 2010).
Eg, Human Rights Network of Uganda set up a Peoples’ Space at the conference centre
64
where NGO events were organised throughout the duration of the Review Conference.
Communiqué of the International Symposium on the Stocktaking Process convened at
Hotel Africana, Kampala, from 27 – 28 May 2010 by the Human Rights Network of
Uganda, Uganda Coalition on the International Criminal Court and the International
Commission of Jurists, http://www.iccnow.org/documents/CommuniqueFinal
30May2010.pdf (accessed 10 September 2010).