At the United Nations Headquarters in New York, Judge Philippe Kirsch, President of the International Criminal Court (ICC), and Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), today signed an agreement that provides a framework for relations between the two institutions. The agreement entered into force as soon as it was signed. After signing the document, Kirsch and Annan discussed cooperation issues between the two organizations. The Convention recognizes the role and mandate of both bodies and sets out the conditions under which the United Nations and the Court will be brought together and cooperate closely on matters of mutual interest. The Office of Legal Affairs acts as the focal point of the United Nations Cooperation and the ICC. All United Nations agencies may seek advice from the OLA on matters of cooperation with any organ of the Court, including the PSC. The International Criminal Court is an independent, permanent judicial body that deals with the most serious crimes affecting the international community as a whole. It was created by a multilateral treaty, the Rome Statute, to promote the rule of law and ensure that the most serious international crimes do not go unpunished. The ICC, based in The Hague, Netherlands, complements national courts to ensure that they remain competent for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Since 4 October 2004, 97 States have been parties to the Rome Statute. The Relationship Agreement between the United Nations and the International Criminal Court (ICC) was endorsed by the General Assembly in its resolution 58/318 of 13 September. September 2004 and entered into force on 4 October 2004.
The Convention establishes a comprehensive framework for cooperation between all units and organizations of the United Nations system, including their offices, funds and programmes, on the one hand, and the International Criminal Court, including the Secretariat of the Assembly of States Parties (PSC) to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, on the other. With regard to mutual legal assistance, the United Nations undertakes to cooperate when the Court requests the testimony of an official of the United Nations or of one of its programmes, funds or offices. In addition, the Agreement establishes mechanisms for cooperation between the United Nations Security Council and the Court with regard to the referral to the Council of a situation in which one or more offences appear to have been committed under the jurisdiction of the Court. Article 18 of the Convention sets out the conditions for cooperation between the United Nations and the Prosecutor with regard to investigations, the exchange of information, the conditions of confidentiality of information, the protection of persons and the security of any operation or activity of the United Nations. It also deals with issues of privileges and immunities and the protection of confidentiality. The institutional relationship between the Court and the United Nations is defined in the Agreement. These include the exchange of representatives, the participation of the Tribunal in the United Nations General Assembly as an observer; Administrative cooperation, the provision of conference services on a reimbursable basis and the use of the United Nations laissez-passer as a valid travel document by some ICC officials. The purpose of the Manual is to facilitate cooperation between the Organization and the Court by providing practical guidance to the staff of all parts of the United Nations Secretariat, including the secretariats of United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, in the implementation of the United Nations Agreement and the relationship with international criminal tribunals.
To read the agreement, please click on: Part I, Part II On 26 September 2016, the United Nations published the following: – Ellen McGuffie, Department of Public Information, United Nations Headquarters, +1 212 963-0499- Claudia Perdomo, International Criminal Court, +31 625221177. . .