Leila Sadat, James Carr Professor of International Criminal Law and director of the Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute
Today is the International Day of Peace at the United Nations. It is celebrated with a theme, with meetings, with videos, and is undertaken each year with a view to bringing the voice of peace into the halls of the United Nations during the Organization’s plenary opening sessions each year. It is a beautiful event.
I had the opportunity to be present the day before to moderate an important event on the eve of International Peace Day entitled “Completing the Legacy of Nuremberg: Activating the Jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court Over the Crime of Aggression in 2017.” The meeting was convened by the Permanent Mission of the Principality of Liechtenstein to the United Nations, and featured remarks by the Foreign Ministers of Lichtenstein and Costa Rica, and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein.
Former Nuremberg Prosecutor Benjamin Ferencz could not attend, having been opportuned by Hurricane Irma’s untimely and tempestuous appearance, but sent his best wishes and encouragement.
The meeting was well-attended with many governments and NGOs taking the floor. The overall sentiment of the room was that the aggression amendments are an important element of completing the Rome Statute, and should be activated promptly in December when the ICC Assembly of States Parties is in session.
Read the full post at the Harris Institute blog.