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Informal Daily Summary from the ASP: Monday, 6 December 2010

06 Dec 2010

Dear all,

Today, 6 December 2010, the ninth session of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) opened in New York, USA.

This message includes a short summary of developments in the ASP plenary session (I), side events (II) as well as related documents (III) and news coverage (IV).

>From 6 - 10 December 2010, representatives from each of the 114 ICC States that have ratified the Rome Statute are gathering to address and make decisions on numerous issues that are central to the Court's operations.

The ASP is a pivotal event for the Coalition for the ICC, which has participated in ASP sessions for well over a decade. More than 150 NGO representatives are attending the ninth ASP to monitor key issues at stake, including the necessary follow-up to the June 2010 ICC Review Conference, the ICC budget, cooperation with the ICC, oversight mechanisms and the upcoming judicial and prosecutorial elections, among other issues. NGOs will contribute to discussions through side events, advocacy meetings, press conferences and the submission of position papers from the Coalition's issue-based teams.

The various papers produced by Coalition teams as well as individual members' recommendations to the ASP are available on the Coalition's website at: http://coalitionfortheicc.org/?mod=asp9

Official ASP documents and journals can be found on the ICC-ASP website at: http://www.icc-cpi.int/nr/exeres/f16c9b3e-55a6-4989-8987-f57125a0d306.htm

Regards,

CICC Secretariat
www.coalitionfortheicc.org

***********************

CICC ASP9 INFORMAL SUMMARY: MONDAY 6 DECEMBER 2010

I. PLENARY SESSION

On December 6, 2010, the first session of the ninth Assembly of States Parties (ASP) to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) opened with remarks by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. The UNSG statement is available at: http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=4979

Colombian President H.E. Juan Manuel Santos then addressed the plenary and presented the views of his government on cooperation with the ICC, transitional justice and the reparations process in Colombia, and the Trust Fund for Victims among other topics.

This was followed by remarks by ICC President, Judge Sang-Hyun Song who presented a Report on the activities of the Court. Topics raised by the President included the progress made by the Court in 2010, the outcomes of the 2010 ICC Review Conference, budget and complementarity.

ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo then took the floor and reported on the activities of his Office in the course of 2010. The issues raised by Prosecutor Ocampo included, among others, the importance of the Review Conference, complementarity and cooperation, as well as outstanding arrest warrants despite continuing violence in Darfur; situations under preliminary examinations including the newly announced examination of the Republic of Korea; the Independent Oversight Mechanism of the ICC; OTP priorities for 2011, and the upcoming elections of a new ICC Prosecutor.

The 2010 Report on the activities of the Court is available at: http://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/asp_docs/ASP9/ICC-ASP-9-23-ENG.pdf

This presentation was followed by an intervention of Chair of the Board of Directors of the Trust Fund for Victims, Elizabeth Rehn. Ms. Rehn emphasised the Trust Fund’s unique undertaking and on the Trust Fund’s need for continued financial support from states, among other issues.

Ambassador Christian Wenaweser, President of the Assembly, then presented a report on the activities of the ASP Bureau and mentioned the successes of the Review Conference and expected next steps.

The rest of the day’s plenary session was dedicated to the ASP General Debate with speeches from 34 States Parties including: Botswana, South Africa, Mexico, Japan, Belgium (on behalf of the European Union), Switzerland, Germany, Canada, France, Korea, Austria, Jordan, Uganda, New Zealand, Jordan, Bolivia, Italy, Peru, the Czech Republic, Finland, Brazil, Poland, Argentina, Senegal, Hungary, Denmark, Slovakia, Serbia, Zambia, Spain, Kenya, Luxembourg, Costa Rica, Norway and Croatia.

These statements will be posted shortly on the ICC-ASP website at: http://www.icc-cpi.int/nr/exeres/f16c9b3e-55a6-4989-8987-f57125a0d306.htm

Issues raised included, among others, the outcomes of the ICC Review Conference, cooperation with the ICC, political support to the Court, universality, complementarity, the Court’s budget for 2011, victims, ICC communications, and the recognition for the role of the Coalition for the ICC and civil society. States Parties also welcomed the States that have recently ratified the Rome Statute: Bangladesh, Seychelles, Saint Lucia and Moldova.

The plenary session closed with the report of the Credentials Committee.

II. SIDE EVENTS

In an event entitled “Victims’ Participation before the ICC”, organized by the Victims’ Rights Working group (VRWG), panelists Silvana Arbia, ICC Registrar; Carla Ferstman, REDRESS; Robert Falay Yuma, Synergie Congolaise pour les Victimes; and Raymond Brown, ICC Legal Representative of Victims spoke about victims’ participation in ICC proceedings and addressing challenges to making sure this process is effective. They also addressed what victims’ participation in ICC proceedings means for victims and the role of legal representation for victims before the Court. The panel was moderated by Paulina Vega of FIDH.
For more information on the VRWG, visit: http://www.vrwg.org/

ICC Judge Sir Adrian Fulford gave a talk during a side-event entitled “Reflections of a Trial judge at the ICC”, where he elaborated on his experience and challenges faced as the President of the Trial Division and the presiding Judge in the Lubanga trial.

In the evening, a panel discussion was held by the New York City Coalition for Darfur in conjunction with UBUNTU/ NYU STAND, the NYU students anti-genocide group and the Darfur People's Association of New York to discuss issues surrounding the upcoming referendum on South Sudanese independence and the current human rights situation in Sudan.
For more information, visit: http://action.savedarfur.org/site/PageNavigator/Events/All_Events

III. RELATED DOCUMENTS

A. NGO PAPERS AND STATEMENTS

1. CICC Team Papers and recommendations to the Ninth ASP, December 2010, http://coalitionfortheicc.org/?mod=asp9

2. Background Paper in Preparation for the Ninth ASP, CICC, 2 December 2010, http://www.iccnow.org/documents/ASP_9_Background_Paper.pdf (English); http://www.coalitionfortheicc.org/documents/AEP_9_Document_dinformation.pdf (French)

3. “Position Paper with recommendations to the Ninth Session of the Assembly of States Parties,” FIDH, 30 November 2010, http://www.iccnow.org/documents/ASPPositionPaper_FIDH_Nov2010.pdf

4. “Consolidating Kampala: VRWG Paper prepared for the 9th Session of the Assembly of States Parties,” VRWG, 2 December 2010, http://www.iccnow.org/documents/2010VRWGASPaperFinal.pdf

5. “Memorandum for the Ninth Session of the ICC ASP,” Human Rights Watch, November 2010, http://www.iccnow.org/documents/MemorandumNinthASP_HRW_Nov2010.pdf

6. “Concerns at the Ninth Session of the Assembly of States Parties,” Amnesty International, November 2010, http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/IOR53/016/2010/en/d72fa9a5-c434-42b9-b75d-627e3032e4bd/ior530162010en.pdf

7. “Coalition press briefing at ICC States Parties Meeting , New York Meeting Key to Prepare for ICC Elections and Follow Up on Review Conference; NGOs to Brief the Media on Issues Central to the Court’s Work,” CICC Media Advisory, 2 December 2010, http://www.iccnow.org/documents/ASPMediaAdvisory_2Dec2010_final.pdf

8. “Making Complementarity Work: The Way Forward”, International Center for Transitional Justice, 6 December 2010, http://www.coalitionfortheicc.org/documents/Discussion_paper_for_Side_EventMaking_Complementarity_Work_Dec_9_2010_FINAL.pdf

B. OTHER DOCUMENTS

1. New issue of the ASP Newsletter, ICC-ASP-NL-05/10, No. 5, December 2010 http://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/asp_docs/Publications/Newsletter-ASP-5-Web-ENG.pdf

2. Latest version of the ASP Journal, 6 - 10 December 2010, http://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/asp_docs/ASP9/ASP9-Journal.pdf

IV. RELATED NEWS COVERAGE

1. “Special Event: Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ninth session) – Opening”, UN Multimedia, 06 December 2010, http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/webcast/2010/12/special-event-assembly-of-states-parties-to-the-rome-statute-of-the-international-criminal-court-ninth-session-opening.html (audiovisual)

2. “1st plenary meeting of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ninth session)”, UN Multimedia, 06 December 2010, http://www.unmultimedia.org/radio/library/2010/12/19712.html(audio)

3. “UN - Secretary-General's Remarks to the Ninth Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court”, UN - Office of the Spokeperson, 06 December 2010, http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=4979

4. “Strengthen fight against impunity through ICC, Ban tells States parties”, Spero News, 6 December 2010, http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?idCategory=33&idsub=128&id=44567&t=Strengthen+fight+against+impunity+through+ICC,+Ban+tells+States+parties

5. “The UN is completely available to help Colombia: Ban Ki-Moon” (La ONU está completamente disponible para ayudar a Colombia: Ban Ki-Moon), Vanguardia, 6 December 2010, http://www.vanguardia.com/actualidad/colombia/84866-la-onu-esta-completamente-disponible-para-ayudar-a-colombia-ban-ki-moon (Spanish)

6. “In Colombia no group has impunity: Santos”, Colombia Reports, 6 December 2010, http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/13277-in-colombia-no-sector-enjoys-impunity-santos.html

7. “Santos reaffirms Colombia commitment with the fight against impunity” (Santos reafirma el compromiso de Colombia en la lucha contra la impunidad), EFE, 6 December 2010, http://www.google.com/hostednews/epa/article/ALeqM5jIxRshu4NvWiDWiwaxbmOzAKISDA?docId=1420826(Spanish)

8. “Santos called the international community to achieve peace" (Santos hizo un llamado a la comunidad internacional para alcanzar la paz), El País, 6 December 2010, http://www.elpais.com.co/elpais/colombia/noticias/santos-reitera-garantias-justicia-colombiana-en-cpi (Spanish)

9. “Fiji condemns U.S. denial of visa to chief justice”, People Daily, 06 December 2010, http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/7222291.html

*********

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News Browse by Region Media Digests Country Updates UN Excerpts on the ICC Updates of the Assembly Browse by Region		Informal Daily Summary from the ASP: Monday, 6 December 2010 06 Dec 2010 Dear all, Today, 6 December 2010, the ninth session of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) opened in New York, USA. This message includes a short summary of developments in the ASP plenary session (I), side events (II) as well as related documents (III) and news coverage (IV). >From 6 - 10 December 2010, representatives from each of the 114 ICC States that have ratified the Rome Statute are gathering to address and make decisions on numerous issues that are central to the Court's operations. The ASP is a pivotal event for the Coalition for the ICC, which has participated in ASP sessions for well over a decade. More than 150 NGO representatives are attending the ninth ASP to monitor key issues at stake, including the necessary follow-up to the June 2010 ICC Review Conference, the ICC budget, cooperation with the ICC, oversight mechanisms and the upcoming judicial and prosecutorial elections, among other issues. NGOs will contribute to discussions through side events, advocacy meetings, press conferences and the submission of position papers from the Coalition's issue-based teams. The various papers produced by Coalition teams as well as individual members' recommendations to the ASP are available on the Coalition's website at: http://coalitionfortheicc.org/?mod=asp9 Official ASP documents and journals can be found on the ICC-ASP website at: http://www.icc-cpi.int/nr/exeres/f16c9b3e-55a6-4989-8987-f57125a0d306.htm Regards, CICC Secretariat www.coalitionfortheicc.org ********************* CICC ASP9 INFORMAL SUMMARY: MONDAY 6 DECEMBER 2010 I. PLENARY SESSION On December 6, 2010, the first session of the ninth Assembly of States Parties (ASP) to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) opened with remarks by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. The UNSG statement is available at: http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=4979 Colombian President H.E. Juan Manuel Santos then addressed the plenary and presented the views of his government on cooperation with the ICC, transitional justice and the reparations process in Colombia, and the Trust Fund for Victims among other topics. This was followed by remarks by ICC President, Judge Sang-Hyun Song who presented a Report on the activities of the Court. Topics raised by the President included the progress made by the Court in 2010, the outcomes of the 2010 ICC Review Conference, budget and complementarity. ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo then took the floor and reported on the activities of his Office in the course of 2010. The issues raised by Prosecutor Ocampo included, among others, the importance of the Review Conference, complementarity and cooperation, as well as outstanding arrest warrants despite continuing violence in Darfur; situations under preliminary examinations including the newly announced examination of the Republic of Korea; the Independent Oversight Mechanism of the ICC; OTP priorities for 2011, and the upcoming elections of a new ICC Prosecutor. The 2010 Report on the activities of the Court is available at: http://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/asp_docs/ASP9/ICC-ASP-9-23-ENG.pdf This presentation was followed by an intervention of Chair of the Board of Directors of the Trust Fund for Victims, Elizabeth Rehn. Ms. Rehn emphasised the Trust Fund’s unique undertaking and on the Trust Fund’s need for continued financial support from states, among other issues. Ambassador Christian Wenaweser, President of the Assembly, then presented a report on the activities of the ASP Bureau and mentioned the successes of the Review Conference and expected next steps. The rest of the day’s plenary session was dedicated to the ASP General Debate with speeches from 34 States Parties including: Botswana, South Africa, Mexico, Japan, Belgium (on behalf of the European Union), Switzerland, Germany, Canada, France, Korea, Austria, Jordan, Uganda, New Zealand, Jordan, Bolivia, Italy, Peru, the Czech Republic, Finland, Brazil, Poland, Argentina, Senegal, Hungary, Denmark, Slovakia, Serbia, Zambia, Spain, Kenya, Luxembourg, Costa Rica, Norway and Croatia. These statements will be posted shortly on the ICC-ASP website at: http://www.icc-cpi.int/nr/exeres/f16c9b3e-55a6-4989-8987-f57125a0d306.htm Issues raised included, among others, the outcomes of the ICC Review Conference, cooperation with the ICC, political support to the Court, universality, complementarity, the Court’s budget for 2011, victims, ICC communications, and the recognition for the role of the Coalition for the ICC and civil society. States Parties also welcomed the States that have recently ratified the Rome Statute: Bangladesh, Seychelles, Saint Lucia and Moldova. The plenary session closed with the report of the Credentials Committee. II. SIDE EVENTS In an event entitled “Victims’ Participation before the ICC”, organized by the Victims’ Rights Working group (VRWG), panelists Silvana Arbia, ICC Registrar; Carla Ferstman, REDRESS; Robert Falay Yuma, Synergie Congolaise pour les Victimes; and Raymond Brown, ICC Legal Representative of Victims spoke about victims’ participation in ICC proceedings and addressing challenges to making sure this process is effective. They also addressed what victims’ participation in ICC proceedings means for victims and the role of legal representation for victims before the Court. The panel was moderated by Paulina Vega of FIDH. For more information on the VRWG, visit: http://www.vrwg.org/ ICC Judge Sir Adrian Fulford gave a talk during a side-event entitled “Reflections of a Trial judge at the ICC”, where he elaborated on his experience and challenges faced as the President of the Trial Division and the presiding Judge in the Lubanga trial. In the evening, a panel discussion was held by the New York City Coalition for Darfur in conjunction with UBUNTU/ NYU STAND, the NYU students anti-genocide group and the Darfur People's Association of New York to discuss issues surrounding the upcoming referendum on South Sudanese independence and the current human rights situation in Sudan. For more information, visit: http://action.savedarfur.org/site/PageNavigator/Events/All_Events III. RELATED DOCUMENTS A. NGO PAPERS AND STATEMENTS 1. CICC Team Papers and recommendations to the Ninth ASP, December 2010, http://coalitionfortheicc.org/?mod=asp9 2. Background Paper in Preparation for the Ninth ASP, CICC, 2 December 2010, http://www.iccnow.org/documents/ASP_9_Background_Paper.pdf (English); http://www.coalitionfortheicc.org/documents/AEP_9_Document_dinformation.pdf (French) 3. “Position Paper with recommendations to the Ninth Session of the Assembly of States Parties,” FIDH, 30 November 2010, http://www.iccnow.org/documents/ASPPositionPaper_FIDH_Nov2010.pdf 4. “Consolidating Kampala: VRWG Paper prepared for the 9th Session of the Assembly of States Parties,” VRWG, 2 December 2010, http://www.iccnow.org/documents/2010VRWGASPaperFinal.pdf 5. “Memorandum for the Ninth Session of the ICC ASP,” Human Rights Watch, November 2010, http://www.iccnow.org/documents/MemorandumNinthASP_HRW_Nov2010.pdf 6. “Concerns at the Ninth Session of the Assembly of States Parties,” Amnesty International, November 2010, http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/IOR53/016/2010/en/d72fa9a5-c434-42b9-b75d-627e3032e4bd/ior530162010en.pdf 7. “Coalition press briefing at ICC States Parties Meeting , New York Meeting Key to Prepare for ICC Elections and Follow Up on Review Conference; NGOs to Brief the Media on Issues Central to the Court’s Work,” CICC Media Advisory, 2 December 2010, http://www.iccnow.org/documents/ASPMediaAdvisory_2Dec2010_final.pdf 8. “Making Complementarity Work: The Way Forward”, International Center for Transitional Justice, 6 December 2010, http://www.coalitionfortheicc.org/documents/Discussion_paper_for_Side_EventMaking_Complementarity_Work_Dec_9_2010_FINAL.pdf B. OTHER DOCUMENTS 1. New issue of the ASP Newsletter, ICC-ASP-NL-05/10, No. 5, December 2010 http://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/asp_docs/Publications/Newsletter-ASP-5-Web-ENG.pdf 2. Latest version of the ASP Journal, 6 - 10 December 2010, http://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/asp_docs/ASP9/ASP9-Journal.pdf IV. RELATED NEWS COVERAGE 1. “Special Event: Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ninth session) – Opening”, UN Multimedia, 06 December 2010, http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/webcast/2010/12/special-event-assembly-of-states-parties-to-the-rome-statute-of-the-international-criminal-court-ninth-session-opening.html (audiovisual) 2. “1st plenary meeting of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ninth session)”, UN Multimedia, 06 December 2010, http://www.unmultimedia.org/radio/library/2010/12/19712.html(audio) 3. “UN - Secretary-General's Remarks to the Ninth Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court”, UN - Office of the Spokeperson, 06 December 2010, http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=4979 4. “Strengthen fight against impunity through ICC, Ban tells States parties”, Spero News, 6 December 2010, http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?idCategory=33&idsub=128&id=44567&t=Strengthen+fight+against+impunity+through+ICC,+Ban+tells+States+parties 5. “The UN is completely available to help Colombia: Ban Ki-Moon” (La ONU está completamente disponible para ayudar a Colombia: Ban Ki-Moon), Vanguardia, 6 December 2010, http://www.vanguardia.com/actualidad/colombia/84866-la-onu-esta-completamente-disponible-para-ayudar-a-colombia-ban-ki-moon (Spanish) 6. “In Colombia no group has impunity: Santos”, Colombia Reports, 6 December 2010, http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/13277-in-colombia-no-sector-enjoys-impunity-santos.html 7. “Santos reaffirms Colombia commitment with the fight against impunity” (Santos reafirma el compromiso de Colombia en la lucha contra la impunidad), EFE, 6 December 2010, http://www.google.com/hostednews/epa/article/ALeqM5jIxRshu4NvWiDWiwaxbmOzAKISDA?docId=1420826(Spanish) 8. “Santos called the international community to achieve peace" (Santos hizo un llamado a la comunidad internacional para alcanzar la paz), El País, 6 December 2010, http://www.elpais.com.co/elpais/colombia/noticias/santos-reitera-garantias-justicia-colombiana-en-cpi (Spanish) 9. “Fiji condemns U.S. denial of visa to chief justice”, People Daily, 06 December 2010, http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/7222291.html *******