The International Criminal Court Retreat
April 8-9, 2010: Chicago
Alma College’s Public Affairs Institute worked with a coalition of other organizations, particularly the American Non-Governmental Organization Coalition for the International Criminal Court (AMICC) and the Chicago Alliance for the ICC, to host an educational retreat for members of the public and key congressional staff focused on United States policy and the International Criminal Court (ICC). The retreat was held in Chicago, because it is a national transportation hub and a historic center of U.S. study of international law.
The U.S. government announced it would send an inter-agency delegation to the Review Conference of the ICC in Kampala, Uganda in May 2010. Though a U.S. policy on the Court has yet to be determined, this is one of the many indications of support that the government has made towards the ICC.
Congressional expertise on the ICC will become more critical as the U.S. develops its relationship to the Court. We believe non-partisan briefings and discussions with staff of members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and of the Human Rights Subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee can provide a necessary space in which to work toward a more positive relationship between the U.S. and the ICC.
The goal of the retreat was to help launch a dialogue on U.S. participation in the Review Conference and for a policy that would promote a return to U.S. leadership in international justice.
Conference Location
The conference was held at the Cenacle Retreat and Conference Center in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood, about 2 miles north of The Loop.
To allow frank discussions, the event was not be open to the general public or press. The conference began on the evening of Thursday, April 8 and conclude on the afternoon of Friday, April 9. Please see the conference agenda for details.
To view video of the conference, go to youtube.com/almacollege.
Podcasts of the conference presentations are at alma.edu/itunesu.
At the end of the conference, participants produced the consensus statement (click here to download it). We would urge the widest possible dissemination of that document.
In early 2011, Public Affairs students formed on the Alma campus the first undergraduate affiliate of the International Criminal Court Student Network (ICCSN). For more information on this news go to: http://www.alma.edu/news/releases/archives/2011/02/16/icc
