PGA cooperation with the Organization of American States on the International Criminal Court
2010
PGA Intervention on the Review Conference delivered by Dip. Sigrfrido Reyes (El Salvador) Spanish
2010 Session photo gallery
2010 Session media:
- Contrapunto (El Salvador)
- Prensa Grafica (El Salvador)
- El Nuevo Diario (El Salvador)
- La Pagina (El Salavador)
- People Daily
- Ecodiario (Spain)
2008
OAS report including PGA Intervention on Cooperation between OAS and the ICC by Sen. Marita Perceval (Argentina) Spanish
2008 Session photo gallery
2007
2007 OAS report including PGA intervention by Sen. Raynell Andreychuck (Canada) English
Diputado Sigfrido Reyes (Deputy Speaker , Legislative Assembly
of El Salvador)
intervenes on behalf of PGA sharing our position on the
agenda items at the forthcoming Review Conference of the Rome Statute
In line with the commitment of PGA members from the Western hemisphere to the universality and protection of the integrity of the Rome Statute, PGA has been honoured in three occasions to intervene at the Working Session on the ICC convened by the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States.
On January 27, 2010, Diputado Sigfrido Reyes (El Salvador, Deputy Speaker) intervened at this session sharing with OAS member States the position of PGA with respect to the various items in the agenda for the Review Conference of the Rome Statute set to take place in Kampala on in May-June 2010. On this, Diputado Reyes conveyed the committment of PGA to work with both civil society and states parties to promote an agreement to make operative the jurisdiction of the ICC over the crime of aggression, as well as to expand the protection of the ICC over potential victims of henious crimes by ensuring the definite deletion of Article 124 from the Rome Statute and the expansion of the use of weapons that constitute war crimes.
Diputado Reyes also shared with member states the steps taken at the parliamentary level and with a pluripartisan inclusive approach, in line with the position of the FMLN party and the Government of Mauricio Funes to ensure that El Salvador accedes promptly to the Rome Statute. The fight against impunity is important because it ensures that crimes committed in the past do not recur to doom the people of El Salvador. Diputado Reyes shared in this context news of an important development, the Request for Forgiveness for human rights abuses committed by the State, as expressed by President Funes on 16 January 2010, on the occasion of the anniversary of the peace agreements that ended a bloody civil war in 1992.
The mission to Washington on this occasion allowed for Dip. Reyes and Sen. Andreychuk (Canada) to hold consultations at the US Congress aimed at re-engaging parliamentarians with a principled and unfettered support to the ICC.
2008 ICC Session at the OAS
Sen. Marķa Cristina Perceval (Argentina) participated on behalf of PGA at the ICC session held at the Permanent Council of the OAS in December 2008. Her intervention was aimed at supporting the dialogue held between the ICC and the OAS secretariat to conclude an agreement of cooperation. This intervention implemented a specific area of action identified in the Paramaribo Seminar Declaration and in the Santo Domingo Plan of Action, both calling upon reinforced multilateral support to the ICC.
2007 ICC Session at the OAS
On February 2007, Senator Raynell Andreychuck and Dr. David Donat Cattin intervened at the ICC session held at the OAS specifically promoting the inclusion of victim protection and reparation rights in legislation to implement the Rome Statute, as well as political actions of PGA to re-engage the United States with the fight against impunity.
Background on PGA and OAS informal cooperation on the ICC
PGA members from all political parties in the Western Hemisphere have brought about important achievements to the universality and protection of the integrity of the Rome Statute, and continue engaged for further ratifications and for the implementation in national legal orders and human rights law reform.
Given the commitment of the Organization of American States members and its Secretariat to the fight against impunity as evidenced by the pro-ICC activism at the Assembly of States Parties and the United Nations of the 25 OAS countries that are States Parties to the ICC, the Annual Resolution in support of the ICC adopted by the OAS General Assembly, the regular working meetings on the ICC held by the Permanent Council, and the appointment of a Focal point on the ICC within the Inter-American Judicial Committee, PGA seeks the informal but sustained cooperation with relevant OAS members states and organs.
Accordingly, PGA has had the honor to collaborate with the OAS Under-Secretary Amb. Albert Ramdin (Suriname) in the promotion of the Rome Statute in the Caribbean, and mainly in supporting the recent ratification of Suriname, and PGA members have benefited from the invitation to intervene at various Working Sessions on the ICC organised by the Permanent Council of the OAS. These interventions aim at bringing the voice and positions of parliamentarians to diplomatic fora in order to inform and sustain the national decision-making and with respect to key issues affecting support to the ICC and the fight against impunity. In parallel, PGA continues its engagement with the Inter-American Juridical Committee sharing information to promote the implementation of the Rome Statute in national legal orders of OAS member states.
RELATED ACTIVITIES:
Work of PGA in El Salvador in the context of the ratification of the Rome Statute
Link to the OAS Department of International Law click here
For more information contact: deborah.ruiz@pgaction.org
Back to the Work of the International Law and Human Rights Programme
[Last updated 12 February 2010]
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