Côte d'Ivoire Ratifies the Rome Statute, Joining the International Criminal Court

122 estados son ya parte de la Corte Penal Internacional

New York, USA –Côte d’Ivoire today deposited its instrument of ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), making it set to become the Court’s 122nd state party.

“By ratifying the Rome Statute, the government of Côte d’Ivoire has taken a courageous step towards ending impunity and bringing peace and justice for all Ivoirians”, said Francis Dako, Africa Regional coordinator for the Coalition for the ICC. “I encourage the government to proceed quickly with the ratification of the Court’s Agreement on Privileges and Immunities as well as implement the Rome Statute into domestic law.”

Côte d’Ivoire’s ratification of the Rome Statute comes almost 15 years after the state initially signed the treaty on 30 November 1998. A number of legal and constitutional hurdles delayed the process. Côte d’Ivoire’s Constitutional Court had initially ruled in October 2003 that the Rome Statute ratification was not in conformity with the Ivorian constitution of 2000. This implied that the treaty could only be ratified by Côte d’Ivoire if the constitution in force was amended to address the incompatibilities. Due to the advocacy efforts of civil society organizations, the evolving political situation, and the work of supportive members of Parliament, the required amendment and a bill approving the government’s ratification of the Rome Statute were approved by Parliament on 20 December 2012 and subsequently signed into law by President Alassane Ouattara. 

Civil society nationally and internationally advocated for many years that Côte d’Ivoire ratifies the Rome Statute. NGOs conducted trainings, liaised with the media, published information and materials, held academic conferences and advocated with parliamentarians and organized events. The ratification will be a welcome step forward.