123 countries agree to prosecute crime of aggression

NEW YORK: An assembly of 123 countries gathered at the United Nations agreed to allow the International Criminal Court to prosecute those responsible for the crime of aggression, officials said on Friday.

The state-parties to the Rome Treaty, which created the ICC, adopted by consensus on Thursday a resolution “on the activation of the jurisdiction of the court over the crime of aggression”, a court statement read.

The move has been under discussion for years, with Britain, France and Japan being reluctant to allow their nationals to be tried under such a charge.

Aggression will be added to crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes, which ICC is tasked with investigating and bringing to justice.

At its founding in 1998, ICC’s backers could not agree on a legal definition of “aggression”, but a consensus was reached in Kampala, Uganda, in 2010.

The resolution adopted on Thursday, however, does not allow for retroactive prosecutions and only applies to state-parties, which means China, Russia and the United States will not be affected.

The International Peace Institute, a think thank based here, said it was doubtful if aggression would be prosecuted any time soon, given the interpretations of the legal meaning and the political interests involved. AFP