The Assembly of States Parties – the annual meeting of those who have signed up to the ICC – continues in New York. In the second of her blogs from the UN building, Janet Anderson wonders about the competitive nature of international justice.
First of all there’s the insanity of the judges’ election. We’ve now had the sixteenth round and still don’t have all six new judges elected! At least the elections are taking place as the same time as the main debates so that the tempo doesn’t slow down too much.
For more information about how ICC judges are elected look here and here.
Every morning new lobbying material has been laid out for the delegates. But I can’t believe that they are helping to change delegate’s minds. The ASP judges’ election has become part of the ‘currency’ of exchange: I vote for you here and you vote for me elsewhere on a UN appointment. Do you get the best judges? I doubt it. Of course regional groups use tactical voting – that’s inevitable. But I do wish they’d be a bit more efficient about it.
Another element of competition is the different narratives out of Kenya. There are NGOs still campaigning for ‘justice’ in the sense of continued courtroom activity. They really refuse to give up on the Kenyatta file.
See here for how Kenyans for Peace and Truth through Justice have been working.
And then there are those Kenyan NGOs that say it’s time to move on. More about the activities of the Kenyan Citizen Coalition here.
Both have been attending side events. And if you are pro-prosecutions, getting a selfie with the Prosecutor.
Or – if you’re against – wearing traditional dress and hob-nobbing with diplomats.
And the other bit of competition I’ve noted is that sometimes there are so many side events, hosted by so many important organisations, that it is really difficult to decide which one to go to.
How are you meant to choose between accountability for human rights violations in Libya and victims’ perspectives on delivering reparative justice? I wished I could have split myself up to hear all the interesting presentations.
If you want to see Janet’s first blog on the strangeness of being at the ASP, read it here.
Photo: ASP/Flickr
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