President of the International Criminal Court ICC visits Finland
Press release 106/2016
2 June 2016
President of the International Criminal Court ICC Silvia Fernández de Gurmendi will visit Finland on 9–10 June on the invitation of the Legal Service of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
During the visit, President Fernández de Gurmendi will meet President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö, Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini, Minister of Justice and Employment Jari Lindström, as well as representatives of the judicial system and members of the network specialising in human rights in foreign policy.
The mandate of the ICC includes the most serious international crimes, that is, genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes of aggression. At the moment, the Court is investigating alleged crimes in eight African countries and crimes related to the international armed conflict in Georgia in 2008. Preliminary examinations are ongoing related to nine allegations in, for example, Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine and Palestine.
President Fernández de Gurmendi will hold the keynote speech at the International Criminal Court – the Past, the Present and the Future seminar, organised by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The seminar will also mark two Finns' major contribution to the development of the ICC: Doctor Erkki Kourula served as Judge of the ICC in 2003–2015 and Minister Elisabeth Rehn served as Chair of and member representing the Western European and Other States at the ICC Trust Fund for Victims in 2009–2015. Other speakers at the seminar will be Foreign Minister Timo Soini, Director General for Legal Affairs Päivi Kaukoranta and Ambassador Marja Lehto. Ms Lehto is the candidate of Finland and the other Nordic countries for membership of the International Law Commission (ILC).
The seminar will be held in the Assembly Hall of the Helsinki City Hall, Pohjoisesplanadi 11–13, on Thursday 9 June at 09.30–12.00. The seminar is open to the public. Anyone willing to participate in it should register no later than 6 June.
Inquiries: Satu Suikkari-Kleven, Director, Unit for Public International Law, tel. +358 40 760 3578. Requests for interview: Liisa Oravisto, Project Assistant, tel. +35850 411 9659.
The Foreign Ministry's email addresses are of the format [email protected].