Accra: The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mmamoloko Kubayi, is set to travel to the Republic of Ghana to participate in a high-level retreat focused on the Kampala Amendments and International Criminal Justice. This event, scheduled from May 19 to 21, 2025, aims to bring together prominent figures from the 33 African States Parties to the International Criminal Court (ICC), along with representatives from various international legal bodies.
According to South African Government News Agency, the retreat will include participation from the ICC Presidency, the Assembly of States Parties (ASP), the ICC Trust Fund for Victims, senior African Union officials, and international legal experts. The event follows a successful pilot retreat held in Johannesburg in October 2024, which aimed to increase awareness and foster ownership among African States Parties. This initiative is part of an effort to advocate for a crime of aggression regime that is perceived as both fair and legitimate, and it marked the beginning of an amendment proposal by African States.
The Kampala Amendments, adopted in 2010 at the Review Conference of the Rome Statute of the ICC in Kampala, Uganda, define the Crime of Aggression and set conditions for the ICC’s jurisdiction over it. These amendments identify acts of aggression, such as invasion, military occupation, annexation by force, bombardment, or blockade, as violations against the United Nations Charter.
The Johannesburg meeting laid the foundation for an Africa-led amendment proposal and reinforced the continent’s commitment to establishing a fair international criminal justice framework. South Africa, in particular, remains a steadfast advocate for international legal accountability, and Minister Kubayi’s participation underscores the country’s support for multilateralism and the fight against impunity.
The retreat in Accra is organized in collaboration with the Ministries of Justice of Ghana, Sierra Leone, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It aims to build on the outcomes of the Johannesburg meeting and further discuss the amendment proposal submitted by the Group of Friends (GoF). The goal is to finalize a unified African position on the Kampala Amendments ahead of discussions at the Assembly of States Parties, providing an opportunity for meaningful engagement and collaboration across the continent to shape a credible international criminal justice system.