On 27 October 2017, Parliamentarians for Global Action convened in Niamey (Niger) a roundtable on the full implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in domestic law.
This event took place on the margins of the High-Level Regional Symposium on Cooperation and Complementarity, organised by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Niger and the ICC, with support from the European Union and the International Organisation of the Francophonie. Participants – judges, prosecutors, professors, lawyers, parliamentarians – actively engaged in discussions on the practical consequences of fighting impunity in Niger, notably through the Rome Statute system.
PGA was represented by Honourable Karimoune Niando, Member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Niger, who stated that Parliament would be ready to adopt reforms needed to fully implement the Rome Statute whenever the government would transmit them for consideration and adoption by Parliament.
Mr. Oumarou Zazi, Head of the Criminal Affairs Division in the Criminal Affairs and Pardons Direction of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Niger, underlined the existence of incriminations of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in the Criminal Code, although they are imperfect. Mr. Francis Dako, Lawyer to the Beninese Bar and former Africa Coordinator for the Coalition of the International Criminal Court (CICC), introduced the participants to the provisions of the Rome Statute with regards to definitions of crimes, fair trial rights, modes of responsibility, and general principles of law. Dr. Yahaya Mahamane and Dr. Sani Kebir, Professors at the Abdou Moumouni University of Niamey, touched upon the gaps they had identified in the Nigerien Criminal Code, including the definition of crimes against humanity, the lack of a significant number of underlying crimes and of the responsibility of commanders and other superiors. They also called on the criminalisation of aggression in Nigerien law.
The lively discussions among participants underlined the monist character of the Nigerien legal order, and thus the direct applicability of the Rome Statute in Niger, but they also agreed on the crucial importance to make sure that all relevant provisions from the Rome Statute were faithfully implemented in national law. Mr. Zazi indicated on this topic that a bill to this effect was being prepared within the Ministry of Justice, and, notably, that it would potentially abolish the death penalty, a penalty applicable to war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Niger.
After a brief presentation of cooperation obligations by Mr. Abdoul Aziz Mbaye (International Cooperation Advisor to the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC), Ms. Marion Chahuneau (PGA Program Officer) presented participants with the various options in terms of cooperation framework, as they were implemented in Guinean, Congolese or Burkinabe law. She further underlined the necessity to strengthen inter-State judicial assistance, in order to give full effect to the Rome Statute system and to guarantee that no author of international crime can benefit from a de facto impunity.
The participants concluded the session with the adoption of the Niamey Plan of Action, which defines the next steps to strengthen the fight against impunity in Niger through legislative, politic, and judicial actions.