ICC Assembly of States Parties Convenes At Hague

ICC Assembly of States Parties Convenes for the First Time in The Hague from September 6-10, 2004

Journalist Accreditation Period from August 23- 31, 2004

WHAT: The 94 governments to have ratified or acceded to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) will convene for the first time in The Hague, now home to the ICC. After nine years of ICC meetings at the UN headquarters in New York, the ICC Assembly of States Parties (ASP) will now meet in the Netherlands, following a September 2003 resolution which established the Permanent Secretariat of the Assembly in The Hague.

WHEN: The Third Session of the Assembly of States Parties will be held from Monday, September 6, 2004 until Friday, September 10, 2004.

WHERE: The Assembly of States Parties will take place at the Netherlands Congress Center (NCC), Churchillplein 10, The Hague.

WHY: The week-long meeting will address a range of agenda items critical for the functioning of the ICC including: the election of a Deputy Prosecutor (Prosecutions); the election of members of the Committee on Budget and Finance; approval of the ICC relationship agreement with the UN; and the adoption of the third fiscal year budget which involves serious policy issues impacting all aspects of the new court’s development. The Deputy Prosecutor will be elected by secret ballot from a list of candidates provided to the ASP by ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo. Those nominees were: Ms. Fatou Bensouda of The Gambia, Ms. Nicola Crutchley of New Zealand, and Mr. Josaia Naigulevu of Fiji.

CICC PRESS BRIEFING: The Coalition for the International Criminal Court will be holding a press briefing prior to the start of the Assembly on the morning of Friday, September 3, following the ASP’s press briefing at the ICC (Maanweg, 174, The Hague). This briefing will include an overview of the major advances of the ICC since it was established in 2002; host state issues; and NGO concerns about the future budgeting of the ICC, victims issues and Court communications.

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NOTE: Journalists must have ASP media accreditation to cover the ASP meeting and related press briefings. For complete details and a downloadable accreditation form, go to: http://www.icccpi.int/newspoint/pressreleases/36.html.

The accreditation application period starts on Monday, August 23 and closes on Wednesday, August 31 at 4 pm (CET).

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