Amendments to the Rome Statute

Extension of the ICC's jurisdiction

The Rome Statute defines the role and jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the crimes it prosecutes. The review conference of the Rome Statute in Kampala, Uganda, adopted two amendments on 10 and 11 June 2010, completing and extending the jurisdiction of the ICC.

• On the one hand, the ICC will have jurisdiction over the crime of aggression, thus holding to account high-level figures who have committed acts of aggression in clear violation of the prohibition on the use of force enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. 
• On the other hand, the notion of war crime is broadened by prohibiting the use of poison or poisoned weapons, gas and similar substances and devices, as well as the use of dum-dum bullets in non-international armed conflicts.

Switzerland has advocated the extension of the ICC's jurisdiction in accordance with these amendments. The prosecution of the crimes they cover is an important contribution to the fulfilment of several key objectives of Switzerland's foreign policy as defined in the Federal Constitution:

• further the peaceful coexistence of nations
• promote respect for human rights
• alleviate of need and poverty in the world