Hosted by the German Embassy in Seoul, the conference took place under a global initiative spearheaded by the German Federal Foreign Office and co-sponsored by the foreign ministries of Estonia and Poland.
Nearly 100 participants including diplomats, legal experts, and students gathered for the conference, which was part of a series of regional meetings, ahead of the upcoming Review Conference of the Rome Statute, which is slated to be held in New York in July.
Main discussions at the conference were focused on building international support to strengthen the International Criminal Court's (ICC) role in holding perpetrators of acts of aggression accountable.
Key speakers discussed ways to reinforce the ICC's jurisdictional framework and promote legal accountability for acts of aggression.
"If I look at today, I think the very existence of the ICC is under threat, and not just the ICC but also other international organizations like the WHO," said German Ambassador Georg Schmidt in his welcoming address.
"It is troubling to see tendencies to return to the rule of the strongest. This matters particularly for middle-sized and smaller countries."
Estonian Ambassador Sten Schwede also emphasized the importance of international cooperation. "Estonia highly values the role the ICC plays in upholding the rules-based order and ensuring accountability for international crimes," Schwede said.
He pointed out, "We have seen the consequences of jurisdictional limitations, as we seen in case of Russia's war in Ukraine," adding "All ICC member countries have a role to play."
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.
View more comments