Per la Pau / Peace in Progress

The first Review Conference of the International Criminal Court's Statute of Rome took place between 31 May and 11 June. The meeting was held in Kampala (Uganda) and feelings at the end were mixed. The pressure exerted by civil society, aimed at strengthening the international criminal law regime as much as possible, did not achieve the desired results, largely due to the desire that all agreements be reached by consensus. Finally, after last-minute negotiations, a small extension to article 8 was approved, referring to the Court's jurisdiction for war crimes. Article 124, which enables exclusion of a state party from the Court's jurisdiction of war crimes for 7 years after the ratification of the Court's statute by that state, was retained. Finally, the inclusion of the crime of aggression with reservations, and the possibility that it may not be applied to states that wish to be exempt of its application, waters down the final approved text.
More information at: Coalition for the International Criminal Court review conference website