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[icann-europe] International Criminal Court: A message from HRCBM and CICC
Dear friends,
HRCBM is an active member of CICC (Coalition for the International Criminal Court) and has participated in the worldwide campaign for International Criminal Court. Today we have been informed by CICC that the Historic Inauguration of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is scheduled on March 11, 2003. In this regards HRCBM will launch a special web page, the url for which will be imparted to you soon. In the meantime, please visit http://www.hrcbm.org/NEWLOOK/report.html and click on ICC urls for further details on ICC. We have earlier appealed before the Government of Bangladesh to ratify the “Rome Statute” for ICC and still campaigning for it. Although Bangladesh has signed the treaty, it is yet to ratify the ICC “Rome Statute” and HRCBM is hopeful that Bangladesh government will reconsider its stand.
Thanks
Dhiman Chowdhury
HRCBM
http://www.hrcbm.org
Coalition for the International Criminal Court
Inauguration of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, The Netherlands on March 11, 2003
To: Member of the NGO Coalition for the International Criminal Court
From: Adele Waugaman and Joydeep Sengupta, CICC Secretariat
Date: 2/17/2003
Re: Activities Worldwide to Mark the Historic Inauguration of the International Criminal Court on March 11, 2003
Dear Coalition Members,
Greetings from the CICC Secretariat. As you are aware, last week the ICC moved a historic step forward in its establishment when the first 18 judges were elected by the Assembly of States Parties during a meeting that concluded on February 7, 2003. The swearing-in of the judges will take place as part of the formal inauguration of the ICC, which will be held in just a few short weeks on March 11, 2003. This memo provides further detail about inauguration events and provides suggestions about how CICC members can promote this important achievement.
NGOs in all regions are urged to organize events and/or conduct media outreach to raise awareness of this pinnacle achievement, and are welcomed to use the suggested outreach initiatives and resources suggested in this memo as a guide. To discuss ideas for events, or to convey information about events being planned, please contact Mr. Joydeep Sengupta, CICC Outreach and Communications Associate at cicc6@iccnow.org. For media-related questions or assistance, please contact Ms. Adele Waugaman, CICC Media Liaison at ciccmedia@iccnow.org.
a. Inauguration Events in The Hague
Inaugural Ceremony
The Netherlands, as the host state of the ICC, has organized an inaugural session on March 11 to swear in the 18 judges in the presence of an audience of invited guests, including Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The ceremony, which will be held from 14:00-16:00 hours in the Ridderzall (Hall of Knights) of the Parliament, will be convened by Dutch Prime Minister, Mr. Jan Peter Balkenende. The ceremony will be presided over by His Royal Highness Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Jordan to the United Nations and President of the Assembly of States Parties.
A limited number of invitations will be sent by the Dutch government to a small number of representatives from the NGO and academic communities. The CICC Secretariat is working to ensure that the regional and thematic diversity of its membership be represented at this event. All NGOs planning to be in the Hague around March 11 are urged to inform the CICC as soon as possible by sending an email to Ms. Sandra Bjegovic, CICC Program Assistant, at cicc@iccnow.org or (+) 1-212-687-2176.
Pre-Inaugural Event
An informal presentation to the 18 elected ICC judges is tentatively being planned by the CICC to present some of the Coalition’s key concerns. If full attendance of the judges can be secured, then this invitation-only event will be held on March 10 and finalized plans will be made available through the CICC listservs.
b. Bringing Inauguration Activities to Your Region: Public Outreach
Public Awareness
NGOs are strongly urged to use the inauguration of the Court as an opportunity to bring information about the ICC to their respective communities. Groups are encouraged to organize round-table discussions at local universities/law faculties; host ICC network meetings; and ask local human rights organizations to collaborate in public education or outreach efforts, such as through a video showing or presentation by local experts. Several public education tools are available from our website at:
http://www.iccnow.org/resourcestools/publiceducationtools.html
Basic ICC information is also available from:
http://www.iccnow.org/introduction/iccbackground.html
Advocating for Government Support
Members are also encouraged to use the inauguration of the ICC as a tool to advocate for specific goals in the establishment of a permanent, fair and effective Court. A list of suggested activities includes:
Ø Member organizations in countries and regions from which judges have been elected are invited to bring the inauguration to the attention of the national media, possibly interviews with Judges, focus on their past achievements, etc.
Ø Member organizations in countries which are States Parties to the Rome Statute can use this opportunity to commend their governments for taking a leadership role in establishing the ICC. They can also urge governments to pass strong domestic implementation legislation and to ensure full cooperation with the Court (such as by ratifying the Privileges and Immunities agreement, abstaining from signing or ratifying “impunity agreements”, etc.).
Ø Member organizations in countries which have not signed or acceded to the Rome Statute can use this opportunity to urge speedy ratification/accession in their countries and highlight the need for the government’s attention to this historic institution.
c. Making Inauguration Details Known: Media Outreach
The Coalition Secretariat will undertake a number of media-focused initiatives to raise awareness of inauguration events, including distributing relevant information to the media and coordinating press briefings.
In addition to media outreach conducted from the Coalition Secretariat, fact sheets and press releases produced by the Coalition Secretariat and its members can be found at http://www.iccnow.org/pressroom.html>.
Further media tools will be made available shortly.
d. CICC Member/NGO events Planned for March 11 2003 Inauguration of the ICC:
As during July 17 annual celebrations world-wide, the CICC will be assisting member organizations in promoting the ICC through special events, round table discussion, media outreach and public education efforts. We are developing a roster of inauguration events planned around the world, to which we can hopefully add your organization in the coming weeks.
The regional groups are planning special outreach around the inauguration of the ICC:
Europe
Hogerhand, The Hague, Netherlands
Contact Person: Connie Palmen
email: hogerhand@hogerhand.nl
North America
Washington Working Group on the ICC Washington, DC
Contact person: Heather Hamilton, World Federalist Association, email: hbhamilton@wfa.org
Africa, Asia, Latin America:
No confirmations yet.
As always please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any questions, and we thank you again for your continued collaboration on this important project.
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