At its 7th and final meeting of the fifth session, on 1 December 2006, the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (“the Assembly”) adopted four resolutions: on strengthening the International Criminal Court and the Assembly of States Parties, on the programme budget for 2007, on the permanent premises of the Court and on the strategic planning process of the Court.

The resolution on strengthening the International Criminal Court and the Assembly of States Parties included, inter alia, provisions on State cooperation with the Court, on cooperation between the Court and the United Nations system, on the outreach activities of the Court, on the arrears of States Parties, and on the preparation for a Review Conference of the Rome Statute. The Assembly also approved a Plan of Action for achieving universality and full implementation of the Rome Statute, as well as the Headquarters Agreement between the Court and host State.

At the 6th meeting, on 30 November 2006, of the fifth session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (“the Assembly”), the Assembly re-elected four members of the Board of Directors of the Trust Fund for Victims:

Archbishop Desmond Tutu (South Africa),
Mr. Tadeusz Mazowiecki (Poland),
Mr. Arthur N.R. Robinson (Trinidad and Tobago) and
Ms. Simone Veil (France). 

On the second day of the fifth session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (“the Assembly”), the Assembly continued its general debate.

During the third plenary meeting, held on 24 November, the following States took the floor: Brazil, Liechtenstein, Namibia, Greece, Portugal, Croatia, South Africa, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Norway, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Austria, Mongolia, Comoros, Ghana, Sudan and Yemen.

The fifth session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (“the Assembly”) opened on 23 November at the World Forum Convention Center in The Hague. The President of the Assembly, H.E. Mr. Bruno Stagno Ugarte, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica, opened the session, which will last until 1 December 2006.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Stagno Ugarte welcomed the fact that since the fourth resumed session in January 2006 four States, namely Chad, Comoros, Montenegro and Saint Kitts and Nevis had become Parties to the Rome Statute, bringing the total number of States Parties to 104.

Kindly please find below the list of the journalists that have been granted accreditation to cover the Fifth Session of the Assembly of States Parties to be held in The Hague, The Netherlands, from 23 November to 1 December 2006.

Journalists are kindly reminded that collection of badges will take place on Wednesday, 22 November 2006 from 11.00 to 17.00 hours, at the lobby of the World Forum Convention Centre (Churchillplein 10, 2517 JW  The Hague).

English

Montenegro Ratifies the Rome Statute
On 23 October 2006, Montenegro confirmed ratification of the Rome Statute. The Statute became effective for Montenegro on 3 June 2006, the date of State succession, making it the 103rd member of the States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.   

Chad Accedes to the Rome Statute
On 1st November 2006, Chad deposited its instrument of ratification to the Rome Statute. The Statute will enter into force for Chad on 1st January 2007 making Chad the 104th States Party member.