The Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court ("the Assembly") held its seventeenth session from 5 to 12 December 2018 at the World Forum Convention Center in The Hague. The Assembly was attended by States Parties, observer States, invited States, international and regional organizations and representatives of civil society.

The seventeenth session of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) opened today at the World Forum Convention Center in The Hague, The Netherlands. From 5 to 12 December 2018, States Parties to the Rome Statute, the Court's founding treaty, observer States, invited States, international and regional organizations and representatives from civil society will discuss key challenges facing the Statute, as it is turning 20 this year.

​The International Criminal Court is an independent and impartial judicial institution crucial for ensuring accountability for the gravest crimes under international law. The Court is non-political and acts strictly within the legal framework of the Rome Statute, its founding treaty. The Court's mandate is to help put an end to impunity for the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole and to bring justice to those affected by such crimes.

The President of the Assembly of States Parties, Mr. O-Gon Kwon (Republic of Korea), has expressed concern in response to the announcement that President Rodrigo Duterte has taken steps for the Philippines to withdraw from the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court ("ICC").

On 15 December 2017, the new President of the Assembly of States Parties, Mr. O-Gon Kwon (Republic of Korea), met with the President of the General Assembly of the United Nations, H.E. Mr. Miroslav Lajčák, and with the United Nations Secretary-General of the United Nations, H.E. Mr. António Guterres. President Kwon was accompanied by the two Vice-Presidents of the Assembly, H.E. Ambassador Momar Diop (Senegal) and H.E. Ambassador Michal Mlynár (Slovakia), who will be coordinators of The Hague and New York Working Groups of the Bureau of the Assembly, respectively, until December 2020.

The Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court ("the Assembly") held its sixteenth session from 4 to 14 December 2017 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The Assembly was attended by States Parties, observer States, invited States, international and regional organizations and representatives from civil society.

The Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court ("the Assembly") opened its sixteenth session at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, which will last from 4 to 14 December 2017.

​The Advisory Committee on Nominations of Judges of the International Criminal Court (“the Committee”) held its sixth meeting from 18 to 22 September 2017 in The Hague. The Committee interviewed 12 candidates for six positions of judges at the International Criminal Court, whose nine-year term will start on 11 March 2018. The six judges will be elected at the sixteenth session of the Assembly of States Parties (“the Assembly”), scheduled to be held at United Nations Headquarters, New York, from 4 to 14 December 2017.

To commemorate the Day of International Criminal Justice, H.E. Mr. Sidiki Kaba, President of the Assembly of States Parties (the "President") convened, on 17 July 2017, a high-level conference in Dakar, Senegal, on the "Challenges and Opportunities for the ICC on the eve of the 20^th Anniversary of the Rome Statute". The event was organized with the financial support of the European Union and the Kingdom of the Netherlands.