The President of the Assembly of States Parties (“the Assembly”), Ambassador Tiina Intelmann, visited Addis Ababa from 8 to 11 May 2012. President Intelmann met the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, H.E. Mr. Jean Ping, and the African Union Legal Counsel, Mr. Ben Kioko, with whom she emphasized the achievements of the International Criminal Court (“the Court”) in its first ten years of existence and stressed the importance of strengthening the relationship and dialogue between the African Union and the Court, bearing in mind their common objective of fighting against impunity for heinous crimes.
In her meetings with Ambassadors of African States President Intelmann recalled the vital contribution of African States to international criminal law in general and in the establishment of the ICC in particular, noting that 33 of the 121 States Parties to the Rome Statute are African States, making the African Group the most represented regional group. The ratifications by Tunisia and Cape Verde in 2011 had evidenced the ever-growing support for the ICC among African States. President Intelmann highlighted the significant role that Africa plays within the ICC system. She also discussed key challenges of the Assembly, such as ensuring greater diplomatic and political support for the Court, cooperation, complementarity and victims reparations.
Ambassador Intelmann held a meeting with the Permanent Representative of l’Organisation internationale de la Francophonie to the African Union, H.E. Mr. Libère Bararunyeretse, to whom she expressed her gratitude for its support in organizing an ICC seminar at the technical level in Addis Ababa in July 2011 and its further support for the organization of a follow-up seminar later this year by the African Union and the Court.
During her visit, President Intelmann also met with other members of the diplomatic community to advance an active dialogue with States Parties and non-States Parties in order to raise awareness about the ICC. Additionally, Ambassador Intelmann called on States to organize events to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the entry into force of the Rome Statute.
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