A Crucial Moment for the ICC: REDRESS Side Events at the Assembly of States Parties

Share

This year’s annual Assembly of States Parties (ASP24) to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), will take place from 1-6 December. This session comes at a critical time for the ICC, in a context of intense global scrutiny and backlash. This context is one of sanctions imposed by the United States (US) against the Court Prosecutor, Deputy Prosecutors, and some judges, as well as NGOs working to support survivors in their struggle for justice. This session will also be marked by the failure of certain States Parties to cooperate in the arrest and surrender of suspects under ICC arrest warrants.

2025 has also been marked by positive news and renewed hope: the arrest and surrender of Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines; the arrest of two Libyan suspects in Germany and Libya; the conviction of Ali Mohammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman (Ali Kushayb) in the Situation in Darfur, of Alfred Yekatom and Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssona in the Situation in the Central African Republic; the confirmation of charges against Joseph Kony, in the Situation in Uganda; and an effort by the ICC to revise its Strategy in Relation to Victims, among others.

At this juncture, it is vital for ICC Member States and civil society to reaffirm their commitment to survivor-centred justice and to the ICC’s mandate to deliver justice and reparations for survivors of serious international crimes.

Against this backdrop, the ICC faces several important challenges: ensuring that survivor voices shape its work; strengthening State cooperation in the arrest and surrender of suspects under ICC arrest warrants; delivering effective and meaningful reparations in situations of ongoing conflict; and supporting justice efforts where repression continues. To help address these issues, REDRESS is co-hosting four side-events with its partners that bring together survivors, States Parties, ICC officials, practitioners, and civil society experts to discuss concrete challenges and solutions. These include: advancing survivor-centred approaches to international criminal proceedings, reinforcing cooperation frameworks, tackling the complexities of reparations in active crisis situations such as Darfur and Sudan more broadly, and sustaining efforts where serious international crimes and an accountability gap persist, such as in the Situation in Belarus. Together, these events aim to shed light on these pressures facing the Court and the collective efforts needed to protect it.

Victim-Centred Justice Begins with Us: A Dialogue led by Survivors

This survivor-led side-event will convene victims and survivors from Armenia, Kenya, Libya, Mali, Palestine, Ukraine, and Venezuela. The panellists will share their lived experience, demonstrate the transformative impact of survivor-centred justice and present proposals to States Parties on how to defend the ICC and strengthen the Court’s engagement with victims of serious international crimes.

  • Date: 1 December 2025
  • Time: 18:15 – 19:45
  • Location: Yangtze Room 1, World Forum, The Hague
  • Speakers:
    • Survivors from Armenia, Kenya, Mali, Palestine, Ukraine, and Venezuela
    • Moderated By: David Yambio, President, Refugees in Libya
  • Languages: English, French, Ukrainian, Spanish and Armenian
  • Co-Sponsors: Belgium, France, Finland, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Global initiative Against Impunity (GIAI), Victims’ Rights Working Group (VRWG)

Arresting Suspects of International Crimes – States Parties Legal Obligations to Cooperate and Civil Society Contributions

This side-event will bring together State Party representatives, ICC officials, practitioners, experts, and civil society organisations to discuss strategies for strengthening State cooperation in the arrest and surrender of suspects under ICC arrest warrants, including how national legislation and mechanisms to address non-cooperation can be used to reinforce States’ capacity and political will to fulfil their duties to the ICC. It will tackle personal immunities upfront, and highlight the crucial role of NGOs in tracking suspects of serious international crimes.

  • Date: 3 December 2025
  • Time: 13:15 – 14:45
  • Location: Europe Room 1 & 2, World Forum, The Hague
  • Speakers:
    • HE Päivi Kaukoranta (President, Assembly of States Parties), Judge Sergio Gerardo Ugalde Godínez (ICC Pre-Trial Division), Alexis Deswaef (President, International Federation for Human Rights –FIDH), Bastien Hannart (Legal Adviser – Belgian Central Authority for the Cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunals and Mechanisms), Rod Rastan (Head, ICC Judicial Cooperation Support Section), Jeanne Sulzer (Head of International Justice Commission, Amnesty International France), Kate Orlovsky, (Director, Hague Office, International Bar Association), and Thomas Lynch (Special Adviser to the ICC Prosecutor)
    • Moderated By: Rupert Skilbeck, Director, REDRESS.
  • Languages: English and French
  • Co-Sponsors: Belgium, Chile, France, Vanuatu, Amnesty International, the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC), Human Rights First, International Bar Association (IBA), International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), and Legal Action Worldwide (LAW)

Making Reparations for Sudan’s Victims a Reality

Following the ICC’s first-ever conviction in the situation in Darfur, this event will examine both the promise of reparations and the challenges of delivering them amid ongoing conflict and mass displacement. The discussion will explore options for urgent interim assistance and the role of documentation, law reform, and broader transitional justice efforts in ensuring meaningful redress for victims in Sudan.

  • Date: 3 December 2025
  • Time: 18:15 – 19:45
  • Location: Yangtze Room 2, World Forum, The Hague
  • Speakers:
    • Ahmed Elzobier (Sudan Human Rights Monitor), Elmuez Nur Eldeen (Darfur Women Action Group), Eiman Seifeldin (International Community Care), Ikhlass Ahmed (SIHA), Samah Jamous (Activist) and Mariana Goetz (Director at Rights for Peace)
    • Moderated By: Moneim Adam, Consultant, former Programme Director at Sudan Human Rights Hub
  • Languages: English and Arabic
  • Co-Sponsors: Darfur Women Action Group, International Community Care, Sudan Human rights Monitor, SIHA Networks, Darfur Network for Human Rights, Rights for Peace, and Austria

Persecution and Forced Exile from Belarus: A Crime Against Humanity

This side-event will raise awareness of the continued commission of crimes against humanity in Belarus, explore the roles of States and civil society organisations in advancing justice efforts, and highlight the importance of the ICC’s preliminary examination for victims and survivors of the systemic campaign of persecution.

  • Date: 3 December 2025
  • Time: 18:15 – 19:45
  • Location: Onyx Room, World Forum, The Hague
  • Speakers:
    • Context Expert (International Committee for the Investigation of Torture in Belarus, Belarusian survivor of deportation to Lithuania, Sadia Khan (Psychologist, Dignity), Maria Radziejowska (Survivor Participation Expert), and a representative from the International Accountability Platform for Belarus
    • Moderated By: Rupert Skilbeck, Director, REDRESS
  • Languages: English
  • Co-Sponsors: Denmark and Lithuania

Click to see other side events at the ASP