The States Parties to the Rome Statute unanimously elected Bangladesh as a member of the Bureau at the seventeenth session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute at The Hague, the Netherlands. The Assembly began on December 5 and will end on December 12.
Bangladesh Ambassador to the Netherlands Sheikh Mohammed Belal is leading Bangladesh delegation to the ICC Assembly of States Parties.
The States Parties’ unanimously electing Bangladesh as a member of the Bureau reflects international community’s trust and confidence on Bangladesh’s “unwavering commitment” to the Rome Statute, said the Bangladesh Embassy in The Hague.
Bangladesh will represent Asia-Pacific region in the Bureau along with South Korea and Japan.
A total of 123 countries are States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The ICC Bureau, the apex consultative body, consists of a President, two Vice-Presidents and 18 members elected by the Assembly.
Bangladesh for the first time is going to play its role as a member of the Bureau since Bangladesh’s journey with the ICC as a Member State in 2010, said the Foreign Ministry here on Thursday.
The Bureau has a representative character, taking into account, in particular, equitable geographical distribution and the adequate representation of the principal legal systems of the world.
All major decisions like adoption of budget, administrative decisions like election of judges, prosecutor, deputy prosecutor etc are made in the Bureau.
The Assembly of States Parties is the Court's management oversight and legislative body and is composed of representatives of the States which have ratified or acceded to the Rome Statute.