PRESS RELEASE
International Criminal Court: Italy deposits its instrument of ratification for the Kampala amendments on the crime of aggression with the UN.
New York, January 26th 2022. Italy has deposited its instrument of ratification signed by the President of the Republic on December 22nd 2021, containing the amendments to the statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) that were adopted in Kampala on June 10th and 11th 2010.
The document was lodged by the Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations in person, Ambassador Maurizio Massari, during an official ceremony at the UN Headquarters. On the same occasion, Sweden deposited its own instrument of ratification.
Ambassador Massari, while reaffirming how pleased Italy’s Minister of Foreign Affairs was that the Italian Parliament had approved the ratification in November, stressed the importance of such step in ramping up Italy’s longstanding efforts to supporting theInternational Criminal Court (ICC). “Italy’s commitment is a crucial pillar of the Italian diplomacy at the UN and of all the Italian institutions pursuing the strengthening of Rule of Law in international relations”.
The Kampala amendments define the scope of the crime of aggression and of the Court’s jurisdiction. Furthermore, they expand the horizon of the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, by adding three new types of war crimes to the existing list for it to include specific weapons deployed in internal armed conflicts.
Thanks to this step, Italy and Sweden have joined the countries that had already ratified the Kampala amendments on the crime of aggression – respectively the 43rd and 42nd nation to do so out of 123 States Parties to the Rome Statute.
