Calls for Iraq to sign Rome Statute - Pressure groups formed in Kirkuk are demanding the Iraqi government sign the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
The Kurdish Organizations Alliance Network held demonstrations on Wednesday, July 18, in the garden of the Kirkuk citadel demanding that the Iraqi government sign the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which is curenly signed by 139 countries worldwide.
Hemin Hasib, the representative of the network told Kirkuk Now “This alliance network was formed on March 3 of this year in Kirkuk in order to exert pressure on the Iraqi government to sign the Rome Statute.”
“Signing the statute means a submission for all the decisions of the International Criminal Court and there is not any guarantee for massacres and mass murders not to occur again in Iraq until the government would sign the statute,” Hasib added.
The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (often referred to as the International Criminal Court Statute or the Rome Statute) is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC). It was adopted at a diplomatic conference in Rome on July 17, 1998 and it went into force on 1 July, 2002. As of May 1 of this year, 122 states will be party to the statute. Among other things, the statute establishes the court’s functions, jurisdiction and structure
The Rome Statute established four core international crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of agression. Under the Rome Statute, the ICC can only investigate and prosecute the four core international crimes in situations where states are “unable” or “unwilling” to do so themselves. The court has jurisdiction over crimes only if they are committed in the territory of a state party or if they are committed by a national of a state party; an exception to this rule is that the ICC may also have jurisdiction over crimes if its jurisdiction is authorized by the United Nations Security Council
There have been several massacres and mass murders throughout the modern history of Iraq, specifically during the reign of the former Baath regime led by Saddam Hussein, including the chemical gas attack on Halabja, Anfal campaigns against the Kurds, mass murders against the Shia uprisings in the south of Iraq and many more.
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