Actions taken:
The EU and its Member States underline that those who have committed serious crimes of concern to the international community, including war crimes, crimes against humanity or the crime of genocide must be brought to justice.
In line with its efforts to fight impunity, the EU and its Member States pledge:
– to continue to promote the universality and preserve the integrity of the Rome Statute.
– to include the fight against impunity for the most serious crimes of international concern as one of the shared values of the EU and its partners through the insertion of provisions concerning the ICC and international justice into its agreements with candidate countries and third parties.
– to continue their support to the Court, civil society and to the third States interested in receiving assistance in order to become party to the Rome Statute or to implement it.
The EU and its Member States continued to support the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and its efforts in combating the impunity of perpetrators of serious crimes of concern to the international community, as well as in promoting the universality of the Rome Statute and preserving its integrity. Member States were actively engaged in the Assembly of States Parties of the Rome Statute (ASP), some of them acting as focal points on issues of complementarity, universality and cooperation, as well as in the framework of the Informal Ministerial Network supporting the ICC.
The EU and EU Member States have encouraged states not yet party to the Rome Statute to accede to/ratify it, e.g. within the framework of the UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review and during the EU’s regular human rights dialogues with third countries.
The EU and the ICC continue to work together in accordance with the 2006 Agreement on cooperation and assistance, with regular consultations taking place with the organs of the Court and follow-up on requests for assistance by the ICC.
The EU and its Member States have provided financial assistance to the ICC, both directly by contributing to the Court’s outreach activities, and indirectly, by supporting civil society organisations that support the work of the ICC. Member States have also provided regular voluntary contributions to the ICC Trust Fund for Victims.
The EU continued to make every effort to further promote the universality and integrity of the Rome Statute, in particular during its regular human rights dialogues with over 40 countries and through systematic demarche campaigns encouraging accession to and ratification and implementation of the Rome Statute. It also organizes dedicated high level and cooperation seminars, fosters closer cooperation between States and the Court and provides assistance and guidance to visiting ICC teams through the EU Delegations worldwide in relation to political, logistical, organisational and security matters.
During the relevant period, the EU has also systematically included an ICC clause in agreements concluded with third countries.
To date, 19 EU Member States have ratified the Kampala Amendments to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court on the crime of aggression, and 18 EU Member States have ratified the amendments to Article 8 of the Rome Statute.
The EU and its Member States continue to be fully committed to the implementation of the principles of complementarity and cooperation enshrined in the Rome Statute and have strived to increase the capacities of national justice systems through their bilateral or EU-financed development programmes.
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Rome Statute, in July 2018, EU Member States organised a number of activities to mark this historical date, including several commemoration events, seminars, symposiums and international conferences.
