For general background purposes, a number of official documents and NGO reports shed light on the issues. An important official overview, providing current perspectives of members of the Council, is the UN’s official record of the October 17th Security Council discussion of the ICC. (You may also want to read specific interventions, such as the one made by France or the pre-debate memorandum from Human Rights Watch.) We also acknowledge that our workshop is one of several events that have taken place over the past year. A critical reflection of views on the subject may be found in the Chatham House-PGA Report from March of 2012.
Following the first morning’s plenary, we will spend the rest of the first day in breakout sessions and plenary thinking through key actors on the Security Council and in the UN system. Our key focus will be on three sets of actors: China and Russia, the P-3, and emerging powers, especially the African Union.
- The literature contains considerably less on the subject of Chinese and Russian policy than the other actors. With respect to China, background materials are being made available to participants. An overview article written by JIA Bing Bing of Tsinghua University, from 2006, is also a valuable pre-workshop reading. Dr. Joel Wuthnow, whose dissertation focused on Chinese behavior in the Security Council, shares his co-authored paper on the subject of Chinese behavior in international institutions, Diverse Multilateralism. Finally, Chatham House recently released an interesting study of Chinese engagement in human rights institutions, including international justice, which you may find here.
- For Russia policy, please see this background paper taking into account the Russian intervention at the October 17th debate and a research trip undertaken in September.
- All participants will be familiar with the fact that France and the United Kingdom are States Parties to the Rome Statute. We are all also familiar with the arc of United States policy toward the Court. Representatives of each government will be joining us for the workshop. In advance of our discussion of the P-3, we encourage you to read this excellent and important strategy paper prepared specially for the workshop by Ambassador Bruno Stagno Ugarte.
- At the center of many discussions of the ICC and the Security Council has been the African Union and other emerging powers. Tendayi Achiume of UCLA has prepared a forward-looking overview paper that sensitively deals with the many facets of what we might call the AU-ICC-UNSC triangle. Professor Dapo Akande has made close study of this triangle in recent years; two particularly relevant papers of Professor Akande may be found here and here. Dr. Dire Tladi’s review of the AU-ICC relationship should also be read. We would also encourage looking at this interesting and helpful article on India’s attitudes toward the ICC. An interesting, if year-old, essay by Imad Mansour sheds some light on the IBSA grouping’s approach toward issues in the Security Council. In light of Uhuru Kenyatta’s and William Ruto’s elections in Kenya in the spring of 2013, Kenya pressed for the ICC to terminate its proceedings against them, circulating this confidential note verbale on May 3, 2013, to the Security Council.
- The United Nations may also take steps limit the freedom of action of those accused of crimes under the Rome Statute. For instance, the Secretary General recently restated UN policy regarding contacts with those subject to ICC arrest warrants.
