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By depositing its instrument of ratification on 26 September 2011, during the annual Treaty Event at UN Headquarters, San Marino became the first State to ratify the amendment to article 8 of the Rome Statute which had been agreed to at the 2010 Review Conference in Kampala. The amendment extends the jurisdiction of the Court to the war crimes of employing certain weapons and substances in armed conflicts not of an international character.
The President of the Assembly, Ambassador Christian Wenaweser, welcomed this first ratification which he hoped would constitute a catalyst for other States to follow, both regarding article 8 and the amendments on the crime of aggression which had also been agreed to at the Review Conference.
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Article 8
War crimes
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2. For the purpose of this Statute, "war crimes" means:
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(e) Other serious violations of the laws and customs applicable in armed conflicts not of an international character, within the established framework of international law, namely, any of the following acts:
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The amendment adds to article 8, paragraph 2 (e), the following:
“(xiii) Employing poison or poisoned weapons;
(xiv) Employing asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases, and all analogous liquids, materials or devices;
(xv) Employing bullets which expand or flatten easily in the human body, such as bullets with a hard envelope which does not entirely cover the core or is pierced with incisions.”
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