From 16 to 17 May 2012 the President of the Assembly of States Parties (“the Assembly”), Ambassador Tiina Intelmann visited Rabat, Morocco. As part of her participation in the campaign for universality of the Rome Statute, she met with several Moroccan government officials and took part in parliamentary consultations for Middle Eastern and North African Parliamentarians, which were co-organised by the Parliament of Morocco and Parliamentarians for Global Action.

The President of the Assembly of States Parties (“the Assembly”), Ambassador Tiina Intelmann, visited Addis Ababa from 8 to 11 May 2012. President Intelmann met the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, H.E. Mr. Jean Ping, and the African Union Legal Counsel, Mr. Ben Kioko, with whom she emphasized the achievements of the International Criminal Court (“the Court”) in its first ten years of existence and stressed the importance of strengthening the relationship and dialogue between the African Union and the Court, bearing in mind their common objective of fighting against impunity for heinous crimes.

From 6 to 7 May 2012 the President of the Assembly of States Parties (“the Assembly”), Ambassador Tiina Intelmann, visited Cairo as part of her effort to promote an active dialogue with States Parties and non-States Parties to the Rome Statute alike.
In her meetings with H.E. Ambassador Abdel Aziz Seif el-Nasr, Assistant Foreign Minister for International Legal Affairs and Treaty Affairs of Egypt, .....

The President of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute (“the Assembly”), Ambassador Tiina Intelmann (Estonia), welcomed the deposit by Liechtenstein of the instrument of ratification of the amendments to the Rome Statute on the crime of aggression. Liechtenstein became the first State Party to ratify the amendments that were adopted in a historic consensus at the 2010 Review Conference of the Rome Statute in Kampala.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has launched a website (www.10a.icc-cpi.info) to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the entry into force of the Rome Statute.

In the framework of deepening cooperation between the United Nations (“the UN”) and the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute (“the Assembly”), the President of the Assembly, Ambassador Tiina Intelmann (Estonia) met with H.E. Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, President of the 66th session of the UN General Assembly, Ms. Helen Clark, Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) as well as with Ms. Michelle Bachelet, Head of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN WOMEN).

On 2 April 2012, the United Nations received from the Government of the Republic of Guatemala its instrument of accession to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Rome Statute will enter into force for Guatemala on 1 July 2012, bringing to 121 the total number of States Parties.

During her 29 to 31 March 2012 visit to Geneva, the President of the Assembly of Sates Parties (“the Assembly”), Ambassador Tiina Intelmann, participated in a symposium commemorating the tenth anniversary of the entry into force of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the International Criminal Bar entitled “Assembling the Defence”.

The President of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute, Ambassador Tiina Intelmann (Estonia) welcomed the rendering of the verdict of Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court in the case of The Prosecutor vs. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo today, 14 March 2012. Her thoughts today are with the victims of the crimes at the heart of the trial. The crime of enlisting and conscripting child soldiers is among the most heinous crimes of our times and one that, sadly, plays a role in many contemporary armed conflicts.

On 9 March 2012 the President of the Assembly of States Parties (“the Assembly”), Ambassador Tiina Intelmann, witnessed the solemn undertaking of the five new judges of the Court, which was held in open court, in the presence of the diplomatic community, international organizations and representatives of civil society.

Today, 9 March 2012, five judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) were sworn in at a ceremony held at the seat of the Court in The Hague.

During her 1 to 3 February 2012 visit to Brussels, the President of the Assembly of States Parties (“the Assembly”), Ambassador Tiina Intelmann met with members of the European Parliament, including Mr. Wolfgang Kreissl-Dörfler, Ms. Barbara Lochbihler and other members of the Group of Friends of the ICC from different parliamentary groups.

The President of the Assembly of States Parties (“the Assembly”), Ambassador Tiina Intelmann, visited The Hague from 29 January to 1 February 2012. During this first visit to The Hague as the President of the Assembly, Ms. Intelmann held meetings with senior officials of the Court and members of the diplomatic community in order to have an informal exchange of views on, inter alia, the cooperation of States Parties with the Court, how to expedite the proceedings, including via possible amendments to the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, the budget forecast for 2013, and developing a strategic approach to the preparation of the annual budget.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) held a ceremony on 19 January 2012 at the seat of the Court in The Hague to welcome Cape Verde as the 119th State Party to the Rome Statute, the ICC’s founding treaty.

On Friday, 13 January 2012, the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the Republic of Mali concluded an agreement on the enforcement of sentences of imprisonment.