The 20th Anniversary of the ICC Commemorated in Buenos Aires

On April 9th, the Conference “The International Criminal Court: twenty years of the adoption of the Rome Statute” took place in the Salón Libertador in the San Martin Palace, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship, Jorge Faurie, introduced the event and mentioned Argentina’s role as one of the first countries to ratify the Rome Statute, claiming that the Court constitutes an essential tool in order to fight impunity against the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole. The Minister of Justice, Germán Garavano, discussed the importance of institutionalizing the Court, in order to avoid immunity from the law and stressed the threats that the region is facing. The system of the Rome Statute represents a remarkable improvement for the international criminal justice, aimed to bring justice to the victims, punish the perpetrators and contribute to guarantee more stable and pacific societies. He also mentioned the initiative of creating a Latin American and Caribbean Criminal Court Against Transnational Organized Crime as one of the projects that aims to fight organized crime on a regional level.

Subsequently, some influential personalities gave lectures: Fatou Bensouda, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC); Fabricio Guariglia, Director of the Prosecutions Division of the ICC; Felipe Michelini, Member of the Executive Board of the Trust Fund for Victims, and Silvia Fernandez de Gurmendi, former President of the ICC.

Important members of COPLA also attended the event: Fernando Iglesias, Argentine Deputy; Camila Lopez Badra, Executive Director of Democracia Global; Clara Subirachs and Martina Shearer, COPLA Department of the Ministry of Security. The event was also attended by judges, prosecuting attorneys, deputies and consular representatives as well as other officials. (c.l.b.)