Over the last two weeks, I had the opportunity to be a part of an extraordinary gathering in Kampala in support of the fight against impunity. I joined the first ever Review Conference for the Rome Statue of the International Criminal Court (ICC), held from May 31^st to June 11^th.  Participating in the conference were high level representatives from the 111 member states of the ICC, 10 of the countries from non-state parties who came in support for justice with status of observers including the United States, intergovernmental and international organizations and civil society representatives from every region of the world, the majority of whom were members of the international Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC).

This event came 12 years after the creation of the Court through its founding Rome Statue and 7 years after the ICC entered into force, helping the world start to transition from an era of absolute impunity to an era of accountability for the most serious crimes. The Review Conference came at a very critical time, as there was a great need for the ICC and its members to gather to address the multiple challenges that the Court has encountered in its work, and to improve the Court’s interaction with and responsiveness to victims and communities affected by atrocities. Member states needed this review meeting to examine their commitments to the Court many had participated in creating.

The ICC Review Conference provided a huge window of opportunity for the world community to reiterate its commitment to the fight against impunity. For example, the European Union and its 27 member states count themselves among the most ardent supporters of the ICC. At the conference, the representative of the European Parliament made a particularly strong statement of the EU’s commitment to ensuring cooperation with the Court and the execution of the pending arrest warrant against Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir. Other positive examples of countries seizing the opportunity presented by the Review Conference included the leading role played by the Latin American state parties; the clear statements of commitments to justice made by the African states parties; pro-active initiatives from Asian states including Bangladesh becoming the 111^th country to join the ICC after ratifying the Rome Statute just prior to the Review Conference; as well as the general support by the non state parties and NGOs. All this, along with a clear recognition by nearly all participants of the importance of the role of civil society, sent a profound message about the value of the Court and of international justice. Holding the Review Conference in Kampala presented an exceptional opportunity for victims and affected communities from Uganda and other parts of the region to participate in the deliberations.

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