\u201ctoolkit\u201d to advance the principle of complementarity to bridge gaps between international and national justice<\/a>. How does the EU support domestic efforts to end impunity in practice?<\/strong><\/p>\nThe EU and its member states are committed to promoting the implementation of the Rome Statute.\u00a0 All EU member states have put in place legislation necessary to implement the Rome Statute and exchange information on their experience with this legislation on a regular basis.\u00a0 But we take also initiatives to promote the implementation of the principle of complementarity outside our boundaries.\u00a0 To this end, the European Commission and EEAS have established an internal Joint Staff Working Document on Advancing the Principle of Complementarity, which aims at bridging the gap between international and national justice.\u00a0 Implementing this \u201cComplementarity Toolkit,\u201d the EU offers operational guidelines to EU staff in EU delegations and at the EU headquarters on how to make the principle of complementarity work at the national level while respecting the Rome Statute.\u00a0 The EU equally suggests operational entry points for intervention in the area of criminal justice and the rule of law in order to promote the principle of complementarity in country-specific situations.<\/p>\n
The EU is well known for promoting the universality of the Rome Statute around the world, a key issue for the Coalition and many members around the world. What are your main contributions and are there specific countries the EU is currently focusing its efforts on?<\/strong><\/p>\nThe EU\u2019s ongoing engagement towards the universality of the Rome Statute and promoting a better understanding of the ICC\u2019s mandate is a concrete example of the EU\u2019s political support of the Court. \u00a0The EU continues to make every effort to further this process with third states, in particular during its regular human rights dialogues with some 40 countries, through systematic demarche campaigns worldwide, through the organization of dedicated local or regional seminars, through the systematic inclusion of an ICC clause into agreements with third countries, or through financial support to civil society organizations lobbying for the universality of the Rome Statute. \u00a0ICC clauses are also included in European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) Action Plans.\u00a0 Achieving the widest participation in the Rome Statute is also an EU objective during enlargement negotiations and the accession phases of countries with an EU perspective, as adherence to the values of the Rome Statute and its ratification are part of the \u201cacquis communautaire\u201d to be fulfilled prior to becoming a member of the EU.<\/p>\n
One of the key challenges that the Court is facing is the lack of cooperation it receives. What can the EU and its member states do to address that issue?<\/strong><\/p>\nFull cooperation with the ICC is a prerequisite for the Court\u2019s effective functioning.\u00a0 The EU was the first regional organization to sign an agreement on cooperation and assistance with the ICC on 10 April 2006.\u00a0 The EU and its member states undertake consistent action to encourage the full cooperation of states with the ICC, including the prompt execution of arrest warrants.\u00a0 The EU\u2019s response to non-cooperation with the ICC by third states focuses particularly on how the EU and its member states can respond to impending instances of non-cooperation, to persisting or repeated cases of non-cooperation, and when to avoid non-essential contacts with individuals subject to arrest warrants issued by the ICC.<\/p>\n
Last year, civil society from around the world attended the 15th\u00a0EU-NGO Forum and called on the EU to prioritize and support victims of international crimes. What does the EU do in this area?<\/strong><\/p>\nWhen the Rome Statute was adopted in 1998, the prospect of ending impunity was not the sole concern of the states and NGOs negotiating the treaty.\u00a0 Of equal importance were concerns about victims and affected communities, as well as witnesses.\u00a0 The EU and its member states remain committed to continue supporting victims\u2019 participation under the Rome Statute and contribute to optimizing the current system.\u00a0 Keeping witnesses safe is a keystone of successful prosecutions.\u00a0 Entering into voluntary agreements with the Court on the re-location of witnesses and interim release can be a way states parties can assist the Court this task. \u00a0The EU and its member states will continue to support the important work of the Trust Fund for Victims.<\/p>\n
The EU has been a strong supporter of the ICC and of ending impunity outside its borders for years now, does it have a similar policy\/strategy within the EU?<\/strong><\/p>\nThe ICC remains complementary to national systems of criminal law. In the Council Common Position on the ICC, the EU member states expressed their determination to work together to combat certain forms of crime. For this reason, the Council adopted a decision in 2002 setting up a European network of contact points in respect to persons responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The purpose of this decision is to make cooperation between the member states in combating those crimes more efficient and to designate a relevant contact point within the police and justice systems of each member state.\u00a0 Each member state has designated a national contact point for the exchange of information concerning the investigation of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The contact points will provide information upon request or on their own initiative. The investigation and prosecution of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes continue to be the responsibility of national authorities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The strong EU policy in support of the ICC has a firm institutional foundation in a detailed 2011 Council Decision (2011\/168\/CFSP) and a 2011 Action Plan on its implementation. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":5681,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[90,18],"tags":[492,327],"class_list":["post-5680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editor-selection","category-international-justice","tag-eu","tag-icc","country-world"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5680"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5680\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5682,"href":"https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5680\/revisions\/5682"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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<\/a><\/p>\n