His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands will officially open the permanent premises of the International Criminal Court ("ICC" or "Court") during a ceremony hosted by the ICC President, Judge Silvia Fernández, and H.E. Mr Sidiki Kaba, President of the Assembly of States Parties. H.E. Mr Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, will also attend the event that will be held on Tuesday, 19 April 2016, from 15:00 to 16:30 (The Hague local time) at the seat of the Court in The Hague (Netherlands).
H.E. Mr Bert Koenders, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Mr Jozias van Aartsen, Mayor of the city of The Hague, as well as Mr Bill Pace, Convenor of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court, will speak at the event, which will be attended by over 350 guests, including representatives of States and other international tribunals and organisations, members of NGOs, representatives of the academia and media. Around 10 countries will be represented at the Ministerial level.
The ICC finalised its move into its new, permanent premises on 14 December 2015. The Court required a functional purpose-built premises to effectively fulfil its mandate in the fight against impunity for perpetrators of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression. The design of the building reflects the transparency of the institution and its innovativeness. It combines striking architecture with stringent security measures, while showcasing best practices in sustainability and respect for nature, within the natural dune landscape between The Hague and the North Sea. The building complex consists of six towers that are connected on the ground and first floors and offer over 1,200 workplaces. The largest tower, the Court Tower, accommodates three courtrooms and the media centre.
Since its opening on 1 July 2002, the ICC was temporarily located in two buildings on the other side of The Hague. In December 2007, the Assembly of States Parties decided that the ICC should be provided with newly built permanent premises. In 2010, following an international competition, the Danish firm schmidt hammer lassen was selected to design the new premises and in October 2012 Courtys, a consortium of the VolkerWessels subsidiaries Visser & Smit Bouw and Boele & van Eesteren, was chosen for the realisation. Construction work started on 16 April 2013.
Practical information for journalists
The ceremony will take place in the ICC Courtroom. To cover the event, accreditation is strictly required.
Media accreditation
Journalists wishing to cover the event are kindly invited to request attendance via email to [email protected], before Thursday 14 April 2016, specifying:
- full names and functions (reporter, photographer, cameraman, etc.) of all members who would like to attend;
- type of media (TV, radio, newspaper, magazine, etc.).
Please note that journalists who do not confirm their attendance by submitting an accreditation request before the deadline (Thursday 14 April) will not be granted access to the ICC building.
Depending on the number of accredited journalists attending the event, access to the Courtroom/Public Gallery or to some photo opportunities may be limited. In any case, those not in the Courtroom may follow the ceremony live from the Media Centre. Accredited media will receive confirmation of access by 18 April.
All accredited journalists must present a valid press card, and a valid passport/ID with a photo, at the main entrance of the Court. In order to avoid delays in accessing the building, journalists should arrive no later than at 13:30 (The Hague local time).
Photo/filming opportunities
Possible photo/filming opportunities during the event should include:
- at the entrance of the ICC during the arrival of the guests at the ICC premises;
- at the main lobby inside the Court's building, as the guests arrive; and,
- some moments inside the ICC Courtroom during the ceremony
Additional details will be provided in due course to accredited journalists.
ICC Media Centre
All accredited journalists will have access to the ICC Media Centre, which will distribute the video and embedded audio of the ceremony, via HD-SDI with a female BNC connection. Journalists wishing to connect to this should bring compatible equipment and a BNC cable. Power is provided (European plug). Wi-Fi connection is available in the Media Centre.
Webstreaming and AV materials
The ceremony can be followed live on the ICC website at:
http://video.icc.globecomm.net/
The entire ceremony will be available for download on an FTP server in video (MPEG-4) and audio (MPEG-3) format, and for viewing on the official ICC YouTube Channel. For information on audio-visual matters, please contact Violeta Willemsen-Curcic, Head of Audio-Visual Production Unit: [email protected]
Pictures of the event will be posted on the Court's Flickr account.
Parking facilities
Media representatives can use the ICC's Visitor
Parking.
SNG vehicles
The ICC
Parking includes an area for SNG vehicles. BNC connections are available and the video format is HD-SDI with embedded Audio (8 dual mono pairs): Channel 1 – Floor language (international audio); Channel 2 - English interpretation; Channel 3 - French interpretation; Channel 4 - 8 - Other languages, or if no interpretation then Floor language will be sent.
For further information, please contact Fadi El Abdallah, Spokesperson and Head of Public Affairs Unit, International Criminal Court, by telephone at: +31 (0)70 515-9152 or +31 (0)6 46448938 or by e-mail at: [email protected].
You can also follow the Court's activities on YouTube and Twitter.