Indonesia, Ratify the Rome Statute on ICC

Coalition for the International Criminal Court
www.iccnow.org

For more information, contact :

In Indonesia: Mugiyanto
Chairperson, Ikatan Keluarga Orang Hilang Indonesia (IKOHI)
Tel: +62 21 315 7915 or +62 81 399 825 960
E-mail: kembalikan@yahoo.com

Dr. Theo Sambuga
Chair, Indonesian chapter of Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA)
Tel: +62 21 5715 581 62
E-mail : donat@pgaction.org

In New York: Francesca Varda
Coalition for the ICC (New York Secretariat)
tel: (+) 1 646 465 8520
E-mail: varda@iccnow.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
13 June 2008

GLOBAL COALITION CALLS ON INDONESIA TO JOIN ICC
Says Accession Promised for 2008, the Tenth Anniversary Year of Rome Statute
New York, USA – The Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC)—a global network of more than 2,500 civil society organizations—this week called on the Republic of Indonesia to accede to the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court, without delay. Indonesia is the June 2008 target for the Coalition’s Universal Ratification Campaign (URC), which each month calls upon a different country to join the Court.

In a letter dated 11 June 2008 to Indonesian President H.E. Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
the CICC urged Indonesia to prioritize its accession to the Rome Statute. The letter noted that the National Human Rights Action Plan (RANHAM) for 2004-2008, which was issued by presidential decree under President Megawati Sukarnoputri, established ICC accession by 2008 as a chief objective. Since then, local and international human rights groups as well as Indonesian parliamentarians have conducted a number of awareness raising and advocacy events to ensure that Indonesian accession to the Rome Statute stays on track for this year, which marks the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Statute.

One of the most critical remaining questions is whether the Parliament or one of the government ministries will draft the ratification bill. Once this has been determined, the coordination of all necessary actors in the process can get underway. The Coalition firmly urged Indonesia to follow through on its commitment to join the Court this year.

“It is important for the Indonesian government to turn its promise to join the ICC this year into a reality,” says Mugiyanto, chairperson of Ikatan Keluarga Orang Hilang Indonesia (IKOHI). “In addition, this year marks the 100th anniversary of the National Awakening and the tenth anniversary of the reform movement that toppled the dictatorship. If Indonesia joins

the ICC this year, it will signify Indonesia’s commitment to ending impunity once and for all, and to becoming a truly dignified nation.”

Once Indonesia joins the Court, the under-represented Asia/Pacific region will have a much stronger voice at the ICC and can participate in a more meaningful manner. Currently, only seven Asian states—Afghanistan, Cambodia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Timor-Leste—are member states of the Court. Indonesia’s accession is sure to spur other states in the region to join the growing global movement for accountability for the most serious crimes.

“The national Group of Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) in Indonesia strongly supports the decision of the government to implement RANHAM and accede to the Rome Statute by the end of 2008,” says Dr. Theo Sambuaga, Indonesian member of parliament and national PGA chair. “As a matter of fact, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Indonesian Parliament, which I chair and which counts on the membership of many PGA members, has been asking the government since early last year to speed up the submission of the Rome Statute to the Parliament so that the accession instrument would be adopted as soon as possible.”

Brigitte Suhr, CICC Director of Regional Programs, said that “Indonesia is a major regional power. It has a crucial role to play in bringing Asian and Pacific countries on board in the fight to end impunity for the gravest of crimes.”

There are currently four active investigations before the Court: Uganda; the Democratic Republic of Congo; Darfur, Sudan; and the Central African Republic. The Court also has several situations under analysis, including in Colombia and Cote d’Ivoire. It has issued arrest warrants in each of the four situations under investigation.

The May 2008 target for the Coalition’s Universal Ratification Campaign was Swaziland.