from:cicc@iccnow.org

Dear colleagues,

As you know, July 17th marks the 2nd anniversary of the adoption of the

Rome Statute. Attached and below you will find a copy of the Coalition's

press release to launch CICC's campaign to achieve 60 ratifications by July

17, 2002, to support Amnesty's call to have July 17th declared

International Justice Day and to highlight the anniversary and the

conference taking place in Rome next week, organized by No Peace Without

Justice and the Italian government.

We encourage you to try to get coverage of the ICC in your country or

region this week, using the anniversary as the "hook". As always, the

Coalition Secretariat would appreciate receiving copies of any ICC coverage

you generate or find.

All the best,

Jayne

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Jayne Stoyles (212)

687-2176 or Shelly Cryer

(212) 663-6206

July 17th MARKS HALFWAY POINT FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF

THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

New York, 17 July 2000 - The Coalition for the International Criminal Court

announced today the launch of a two-year campaign to complete the

establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Coalition,

comprised of more than 1000 civil society organizations throughout the

world, is also calling upon the United Nations to designate July 17 as

International Justice Day. On July 17, 1998, in Rome, 120 nations voted in

favor of adopting the ICC treaty and only 7 - including the U.S., Iraq and

China - voted against its adoption. Government and civil society

representatives will meet in Rome to mark the anniversary at a conference

organized by No Peace Without Justice and the Italian government.

The ICC will be the first permanent international criminal court which will

have the ability to bring to justice individuals who commit the most

serious crimes of international concern, namely genocide, war crimes, and

crimes against humanity. The treaty has now been signed by 97 nations and

ratified by 14. Sixty ratifications are required to trigger the creation

of the new world court and a fundamentally enhanced system of international

criminal justice. "We realize the great challenge it will be to secure the

necessary ratifications in the next two years, but we believe it is

essential to achieve this goal," stated William R. Pace, Convenor of the

ICC Coalition.

The ICC is widely heralded as a momentous milestone in the codification of

international law and the protection of human rights. It will have

jurisdiction over crimes occurring in both international and internal armed

conflicts and over crimes against humanity such as 'disappearances' that

occur in the absence of conflict. Pace said, "This is the 'never again'

court, not in the sense that it can guarantee that such crimes will never

occur again, but because it will never again be possible for a Hitler, Pol

Pot, Idi Amin, or Pinochet to commit such crimes with impunity. And law

and justice do deter crimes, thus this court will save millions of lives in

this century if we can complete its establishment promptly." The new court

will also provide redress to victims.

The Coalition believes that although some powerful nations, such as the

United States of America, continue to oppose the Court, overall support in

the international community is overwhelmingly favorable. "Because of the

USA opposition to the Rome Statute, the importance of continued unanimous

support by the European Union, and the importance of the wide support of

the Council of Europe members is greatly heightened. Therefore meetings

like the European Intergovernmental Conference sponsored by the Italian

government and No Peace Without Justice are very important," added Mr.

Pace. The Coalition estimates that 30 additional nations are working to

complete ratification within the next year.

The following achievements have been obtained since the adoption of the

treaty on July 17, 1998:

* 14 countries have ratified the Statute to create the ICC, including, in

reverse order: Canada, Belgium, France, Venezuela, Iceland, Tajikistan,

Belize, Norway, Ghana, Fiji, Italy, San Marino, Trinidad & Tobago and

Senegal

* Approximately 30 other countries are well advanced in their efforts to

ratify the Statute

* 97 countries have signed the Statute and the 98th is expected shortly

* The following governmental groups have expressed support for the ICC

publicly: the 15 members of the European Union, the 13 nations comprising

the Southern African Development Community, the 34 member states of the

Organization of American States, the more than 120 members of the

Non-Aligned Movement, the 54 Commonwealth States, the 14 members of the

Caribbean Community and the 14 states comprising the Economic Community of

West African States

* On 30 June, 2000, the two most important instruments to accompany the

statute-the Rules of Procedure and Evidence and the Elements of Crimes-were

successfully completed after five Preparatory Commission meetings

* Countries are now ready to address issues such the financing of the

Court, the relationship between the ICC and United Nations, and the

definition and elements of the crimes of aggression at upcoming Preparatory

Commission meetings

The Coalition for an International Criminal Court was formed in 1995 to

advocate for the creation of an effective and just International Criminal

Court. The CICC brings together a broad-based network of over 1000 NGOs

and international law experts to foster awareness of and support for the

Court.

For more information on the International Criminal Court, please call (212)

687-2176; or visit the CICC website at www.iccnow.org.

Attachment converted: Assistant:july17.doc (TEXT/MSIE) (0000BFFB)

Jayne Stoyles

Program Director

NGO Coalition for an International Criminal Court

777 U.N. Plaza 12th Floor

New York, NY 10017

U.S.A.

Phone 212 687 2176 Fax 212 599 1332

Email cicc1@iccnow.org

Web http://www.iccnow.org