Expert Seminar on Cooperation Agreements
Technical Event to Enhance Cooperation |
The Hague | Netherlands (the) | Western European and other States
This seminar bought together 32 experts from 25 States Parties to the Rome Statute (Albania, Benin, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Congo (Republic of), Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, El Salvador, Honduras, Mali, Netherlands, Norway, Paraguay, Romania, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Slovakia, Sweden Tanzania, Uruguay), as well as one participant each from the International committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA). Given that cooperation (or voluntary) framework agreements address all aspects of the Court's activities (victim and witness protection, enforcement of sentences, interim release, relocation etc.) under the Rome Statute, this event provided a forum for exchanging good practices and experiences, and for addressing operational and other challenges with a view to find concrete solutions leading that would lead to the conclusion of such agreements by as many States Parties as possible. The event was made possible thanks to funding from the European Commission.
ICC technical events focus on enhancing cooperation at operational levels amongst senior legal officials and other experts in Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Ministries of Justice, Ministries of Interior, as well as regional and international organisations, so as to allow the Court to carry out its mandate in an efficient and effective manner. In this regard, the Court’s technical events are specific in nature, focusing in particular on technical issues such as victim and witness protection, cooperation agreements, investigations, freezing of assets, arrest and surrender, enforcement of sentences, implementing legislation, ratification of the Rome Statute, strategies and policies, and the role of national experts in international criminal justice matters.
