AMICC Members Celebrate ICC’s 10th Birthday

By Audrey Kim
July 1^st marked the 10^th anniversary of the entry into force of the Rome Statute and the beginning of the International Criminal Court. As the first permanent international court with a mandate to investigate, charge, and try people suspected of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, the ICC is a critical achievement in the history of international justice. Here are some ways AMICC Members have been celebrating the Court’s 10^th birthday:  

Citizens for Global Solutions is collecting messages of support for the ICC in its 10^th Birthday card to the ICC , which will be sent to U.S. Ambassador Stephen Rapp, the head of the State Department’s Office of Global Criminal Justice. On July 17, Citizens for Global Solutions will be collecting signatures on a giant birthday card at the National Mall in Washington D.C.to raise awareness about the ICC.  In addition to the birthday card, on July 14^th it will hold a webinar “A Giant Step Towards 'Never Again:' 10 Years of International Justice” featuring former ICC Chief Prosecutor Moreno Ocampo and Ben Ferencz, Professor of International Law and former Nuremberg  Prosecutor.

Human Rights Watch Richard Dicker, a member of AMICC’s Steering Committee and  the director of the International Justice Program at Human Rights Watch, wrote an article in Foreign Policy “The Court of Last Resort”  that analyzes in-depth the development and progress of the ICC.

Amnesty International the international counterpart to AMICC member Amnesty USA has made a short video summarizing the first ten years of the Court. Marek Marczyński, Research, Policy, and Campaign Manager of the Amnesty’s International Justice Team, spoke at an international conference entitled “The 10th Anniversary of the International Criminal Court: Achievements to Date and Prospects for Future” on June 21, 2012. His remarks can be found here.  Furthermore, Salil Shetty, the Secretary General of Amnesty International published an op-ed piece on Al Jazeera. 

Other AMICC people have written op-eds to mark the 10^th anniversary of the Rome Statute’s entry into force:

John Washburn, the Convener of AMICC, gave an insider’s perspective of the Court’s relationship with the US to IJCentral

David Scheffer, member of AMICC’s Steering Committee, law professor at Northwestern University and former US ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues, wrote an op-ed in the JURIST about “America's Embrace of the International Criminal Court.”

Christopher "Kip" Hale,  Senior Counsel at the American Bar Association (ABA) Center for Human Rights, a member of AMICC, wrote an op-ed entitled “ICC Turns Ten: Measure of Justice” for the Huffington Post .

The ICC has made significant progress in the past 10 years, and it will continue to face challenges in the years to come. AMICC celebrates the Court’s 10^th anniversary and will continue to encourage and support the US’s relationship with the ICC.