ULAG at the 23rd Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute

23rd Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute (ASP 23) took place in the context of unprecedented challenges faced by the International Criminal Court. ULAG has been a long standing supporter of the Court, both regarding its work in Ukraine and globally. Among many meetings and events we took part in, here are some insights from the December trip to the Hague.

Cooperation and States' role in strengthening the court.

States parties play an instrumental role in the work of the ICC. Their decisions directly affect the Court's legitimacy and capacity to stay resilient, when faced with threats and efforts to undermine its mandate. This is particularly true when compliance with arrest warrants and refraining from non-essential contacts are concerned.

Arie Mora, advocacy and communications manager at ULAG, had an honour to speak from the floor during the plenary session on cooperation with a statement on behalf of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC). The statement reflects on recent meetings with Vladimir Putin, as well as inconsistent positions voiced by various states in relation to arrest warrants execution.

“All states parties should instead clearly and publicly commit to abide by their legal obligations to execute ICC arrest warrants, regardless of whom they target. This would send a strong message to those individuals who see themselves as untouchable, and to victims across the court’s docket that their right to justice and affirming their trust in the rule of law matters more than political calculations. 

States Parties should also be prepared to respond strongly to instances of non-cooperation. Failure to do so severely affects cooperation with the court, particularly on arrests.” – Arie Mora

Read the full statement: https://asp.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/asp_docs/ASP23-COOP-plenary-SEGI-CICC-ENG.pdf 

Earlier that week at the side event co-organised by Atrocities Watch Africa, Al-Haq, Lawyers for Justice in Libya and ULAG we discussed how actions and inaction driven by political motivations can lead to selectivity and harm the effectiveness of the ICC. One of the recommendations was to ensure sustainable support for the Court as a whole – a step that can help it be more resilient to politicisation.

Ukraine joining the Rome Statute

As Ukraine is set to become a 125th State Party, it is important to both recognise this long-awaited achievement and reflect on the journey, as well as steps moving forward to maximise the positive impact it can have on strengthening the Court. 

The side event on Universality of the Rome Statute System, organised by Parliamentarians for Global Action, CICC, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Republic of Korea, Switzerland and Lichtenstein, explored the recent developments in the realm of promoting universality of the ICC, including Ukraine`s ratification of the Rome Statute. 

ULAG spoke at the event, where we noted that:

• Ukraine`s application of article 124 – a political compromise – must reignite the efforts to finalise the deletion of the article from the Rome Statute. 
• Implementation of the Rome Statute into the domestic legislation – another step in promoting universality of the ICC – is currently vulnerable to political manipulations. Ukraine, the Court and States Parties must ensure effective implementation that would actually strengthen the national justice system. 
• As Ukraine becomes a full member of the ICC, it must act and be treated as such. This means proactively engage in efforts to support the ICC internally and externally, but also to act responsibly with understanding that state`s actions affect the Court and its standing in the world.

image by PGA

The side event on the special mechanism for Ukraine

At the ASP23 Side Event, co-sponsored by ULAG, Amnesty International and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, "Designing an Accountability Mechanism for Ukraine as a Key Step in Effective Capacity Building and Delivering Meaningful Justice for the Victims" experts, including our analyst and lawyers coordinator Alina Pavliuk, explored justice for victims of international crimes.

While Ukraine has advanced through specialised war crimes units and judicial reforms, a hybrid mechanism is essential to share the burden, address gaps, and foster mutual learning. Proven effective in Bosnia, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, and the Central African Republic (CAR), hybrid courts offer scalable, victim-focused solutions. CAR’s special court also demonstrates how such mechanisms complement the ICC.

Ukraine’s justice system faces challenges, including gaps between national and international law, limited victim and witness protection, procedural shortcomings in crime investigations, and heavy reliance on in-absentia trials, which risk fair trial standards.

Experts discussed how a hybrid mechanism could address crimes since 2014, enhance domestic capacity, and draw on successful models from other conflict zones. International support, tailored solutions, and a victim-centred approach are vital to building trust and delivering lasting accountability.

Cooperation between the Court and CSOs 

Civil society is instrumental to the Court`s work, and cooperation between the two is often what leads to a more meaningful, effective and victim-oriented justice. Yet, lack of access to information, often one-sided communication with limited space for an actual dialogue often hinders the prospects of such collaboration. 

This year CICC and International Federation for Human Rightshave launched the report “Civil Society and the International Criminal Court: Pathways to Collaborative and Genuine Engagement”, that reflects on the dynamics of ICC-CSO engagement and contains specific recommendations for improving the situation. The report was presented at the ASP side event, where ULAG participated, with Arie Mora noting that it is crucial to continue looking for the modalities of more consistent communication that would take into account limitations that the Court operates under, but would also allow for a better exchange of ideas and a more effective relationship. 

image by CICC/FIDH

Ukraine is a situation that received significant attention by the court post full-scale invasion, yet it still struggles from a fragmented and non-systemic approach in the ICC-CSOs engagement.

Notably, the side event was joined by representatives of the court, in particular, the ICC Registrar Osvaldo Zavala Giler and the Deputy Prosecutor Niang. The Registrar noted that we must continue the conversation on enhancing the cooperation while also taking the context in which the Court may find itself with more threats and sanctions against it looming on the horizon.

Sanctions

Indeed one of the main topics were the possible US sanctions against the Court. The ICC officials, States-Parties and civil society were and continue to be engaged in conversations to look for ways to protect the Court, as well as mitigate possible negative effects from a potential decision. 

It is unacceptable to try influencing the court with such political measures, even if some states or stakeholders might not agree with the steps the ICC takes as an independent international justice institution (sanctions are considered in light of recent arrest warrants against Israel`s Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Galant in context of the investigation in the State of Palestine). In addition to that, while the Court has survived sanctions before, there is a real threat that incoming attacks will lead to a shutdown of the ICC activities across all situations.

Ukrainian government and civil society must proactively engage in efforts to shield the Court, mitigate negative consequences, as well as take measures to protect NGOs who work with the Court, as sanctions might result in support cuts, as well as secondary punitive measures.