Today, 8 July 2013, an Opening Ceremony was held for the 3rd annual Iberoamerican Week of International Justice and Human Rights at The Hague University’s main auditorium, with high level officials of the International Criminal Court (ICC) opening the ceremony and visiting experts, as well as students from seven countries, in attendance.
In her opening remarks, the President of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute, Ambassador Intelmann stated: The Ibero-American Week of International Justice and Human Rights is the only week-long event dedicated to the promotion of human rights and international criminal justice organised in The Hague. In this regard it constitutes a special occasion reaffirming the dedication of the Ibero-American region to the shared goal of putting an end to impunity for the most serious crimes of concern to the international community.
ICC Registrar Herman von Hebel added: “The support of Latin America remains key to the success of the ICC. This is why the Court is proud to support efforts such as this to promote the basic principles of international law amongst the students of today who will be the judges, prosecutors, lawyers and decision makers of a not so distant tomorrow. As future leaders, it is in your hands to ensure that the fight against impunity succeeds.”
Also speaking at the Opening Ceremony were Professor Hector Olasolo, President of the Ibero-American Institute of The Hague (IIH), Chair of International Law at the University of El Rosario (Colombia) and Visiting Professor at the Hague University for Applied Sciences, and Ernst van Bemmelen, Director of the International Law Programme of The Hague University of Applied Sciences and President of the Bynkershoek Institute.
Background
The week of events, organised by the International Criminal Court and the Iberoamerican Institute for Peace, Human Rights and International Justice (IIH), is held annually to bring together students and experts from the Iberoamerican region and practitioners in The Hague. This year’s activities are supported by the Embassies of Argentina, Ecuador and Mexico.
From 8 to 12 July, a number of events and activities will take place throughout The Hague to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and experience in the field of international law and human rights. Experts and interested members of the public are welcome to participate. For complete details, see the week-long programme here.
The week’s activities will conclude on 12 July 2013 with the final round of the ICC Trial Competition 2013 - Spanish version, starting at 09:30 in Courtroom I of the International Criminal Court. The top three universities from the regional competitions will compete on a fictional case in an open session of Court. The competition is open to the public and will also be webstreamed live on the ICC website (www.icc-cpi.int). ICC Trial Competitions play a critical role in galvanising interest in the Court’s work with academic communities and enhancing global respect for international criminal law.
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.