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Resumed ASP 8: Informal Daily Summary - Wednesday 24, Thursday 25 March 2010

25 Mar 2010

Dear all,

From 22 to 25 March 2010, representatives from each of the now 111 ICC member states gather, with observer states, NGOs and other participants to finalize preparations for the first Review Conference of the Rome Statute.

The Review Conference will be held in Kampala (Uganda) from 31 May to 11 June 2010. As in other sessions, the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC) will be actively participating in the resumed eighth ASP session.

This message includes a short summary of developments in the resumed ASP for March 24th and 25th.

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Please note that official ASP documents can be found on the ICC website at: http://www.icc-cpi.int/Menus/ASP/Sessions/Documentation/8th+Session+Resumption/8th+Session+Resumption.htm

All documents produced by the CICC are available on the CICC website at: http://iccnow.org/?mod=asp8 and http://www.coalitionfortheicc.org/?mod=review

Please do not hesitate to contact us should you need further information.

Regards,

CICC Secretariat
www.coalitionfortheicc.org

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A. HIGHLIGHTS MARCH 24

On the third day of the Resumed Eighth Session of the Assembly of States Parties, a third round of informal consultations were held to consider the draft resolutions for the Review Conference and complementarity, which were both discussed at length. Numerous States suggested amendments to the text on the draft proposed by the Review Conference Facilitators. Similarly with respect to complementarity the Focal Points, Denmark and South Africa distributed a revised draft of their resolution which sought to incorporate suggestions provided by both States and non-States Parties at the previous round of informal consultations. Additional and extensive suggestions were made to the text which the focal points indicated they would review and look to its incorporation into a revised draft. Consultations on the draft resolution on victims and affected communities were postponed to the following day due to exhaustion of the allocated time.

B. LUNCH EVENT ON MARCH 24

During lunch on Wednesday the 24th, the Permanent Mission of Germany to the UN held a meeting on the Review Conference. ASP President Ambassador Wenaweser, US Ambassador-at-large for War Crimes Issues Stephen Rapp; Richard Dicker Director of HRW's International Justice Program as well as ASP Vice-President Zachary Muburi-Muita shared their view on the resumed ASP session and their expectations for the Review Conference in Kampala. The Permanent Missions of Australia, New Zealand and Slovakia held a regional lunch meeting of Pacific Islands States on ratification and full implementation of the Rome Statute.

C. EVENING EVENT ON MARCH 24

In the evening, a panel discussion was held focusing on "The United States and the International Criminal Court". The event was organized by the facilitator for the Plan of action and New York University. Speakers included ASP President Ambassador Wenaweser; US Ambassador-at-large for War Crimes Issues Stephen Rapp; Convenor of the American Coalition John Washburn as well as CICC Convenor Bill Pace.

D. HIGHLIGHTS MARCH 25

The last day of the Resumed Session was dominated by lengthy discussions around the adoption of reports, annexed by draft resolutions. The report covered discussions at the session thus far on both the aggression and stocktaking issues; as well as other Review Conference related-issues such as pledges, the Belgian proposal; the MOU with the Government of Uganda and the Ministerial Declaration. The adoption of the various texts took place with quite extensive discussions by the delegates, including contributions from a number of non-states parties. The meeting therefore extended over the lunch break and was finalised only close to midnight.

E. CONFERENCE FACILITIES IN KAMPALA

The Secretariat of the Assembly of States Parties also gave a presentation on the conference facilities in Kampala, where the Review Conference will take place, followed by a presentation by the Government of Uganda, warmly welcoming all delegates to Uganda.

F. TRUST FUND FOR VICTIMS

During these two days, the Board of the Trust Fund for Victims continued to meet, also with representatives from civil society, including Mr. Pace and Isabelle Olma from the CICC Secretariat.