The International Criminal Court is gaining more support. The Caribbean Island of Grenada on Thursday joined 114 other countries in accepting the jurisdiction of the court in The Hague.

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Grenada is the 115th state party to accede to the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the permanent international court. The court is capable of trying perpetrators of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. With the accession, there are only three states of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) left to join the court: Bahamas, Jamaica and Haiti.

Grenada's accession demonstrates its strong commitment to justice and the rule of law, according to the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC).

"I hope Grenada's accession will inspire other states in the region to support this extraordinary justice system promptly," says CICC Americas Coordinator Francesca Varda. "With Grenada's accession, only three states in the CARICOM have yet to join the ICC: the Bahamas, Jamaica and Haiti."

"The CICC will continue to advocate for the implementation of Rome Statute crimes and ICC cooperation provisions into national law, and is looking forward to working with Grenada, as well as with other States in the region, to share experiences on this important matter", Varda explains. "In particular we will also be calling on all CARICOM States to ratify the Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the Court (APIC), a treaty that supports the effective functioning of the Court and which to date, has only been ratified in the Caribbean by Belize, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago."

The CICC is a society network of 2,500 organisations around the world advocating for a fair, effective and independent ICC. 

Only three left

With Grenada's accession and the ratification of Saint Lucia in August 2010, only three states in the CARICOM have yet to ratify the Statute: the Bahamas, Jamaica and Haiti.

Caribbean states and civil society played a key role in the creation and establishment of the ICC. In 1989, during the United Nations' 44th General Assembly, Trinidad and Tobago submitted an agenda item on the establishment of an international criminal court for the assembly's consideration. This motion - which gained the support of a number of states, including all CARICOM member states - ultimately resulted in a consensus resolution that called for the creation of an international criminal court.

By joining the ICC treaty, Grenada will also be able to nominate and elect highly qualified candidates for crucial ICC elections scheduled for December 2011, during which state parties will elect six new judges and a new prosecutor, among other key officials.

Upcoming targets

There are a handful of countries which are close to acceding to the Rome Statute. Tunisia has indicated its willingness to accede and is only a few steps away from ratification. Egypt has also showed considerable interest in ratifying the Rome Statute, but still has a long way to go. The Philippines looked set to ratify, but this has been postponed to the summer. Malaysia is another country in the region which is close to ratification.

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Earlier IJT editions:

• International Justice Tribune, 128 (9 May 2011)
• International Justice Tribune, 127 (27 April 2011)
• International Justice Tribune, 126 (13 April 2011)
• International Justice Tribune, 125 (30 March 2011)
• International Justice Tribune, 124 (16 March 2011)
• International Justice Tribune, 123 (2 March 2011)
• International Justice Tribune, 122 (16 February 2011)
• International Justice Tribune, 121 (2 February 2011)
• International Justice Tribune, 120 (19 January 2011)
• International Justice Tribune, 119 (14 December 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 118 (1 December 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 117 (17 November 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 116 (2 November 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 115 (20 October 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 114 (4 October 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 113 (21 September)
• International Justice Tribune, 112 (8 September 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 111 (25 August 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 110 (14 July 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 109 (30 June 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 108 (16 June 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 107 (2 June 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 106 (19 May 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 105 (5 May 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 104 (21 April 2010)
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• International Justice Tribune, 102 (24 March 2010)
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• International Justice Tribune, 100 (24 February 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 99 (10 February 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 98 (27 January 2010)
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• International Justice Tribune, 96 (23 December 2009)
• International Justice Tribune, 95 (9 December 2009)
• International Justice Tribune, 94 (25 November 2009)
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• International Justice Tribune, 91 (14 October 2009)
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