A Play for Peace on the Pitch

In the summer of 2009, I worked with the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC) as an IHRP intern. The placement was an incredible experience, as well as a great crash course in international criminal law and the United Nations system. As it turned out, my work at CICC lead to a trip to Uganda (and a chance to chill on a soccer field with Ban Ki Moon) one year later.

My first task at the CICC involved compiling a memo on the practices of previous treaty review conferences. This developed into a report on possible modules and practices for the Review Conference of the Rome Statute to take place the following summer. The report was circulated to the CICC’s member organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, and distributed to all States Parties to the Rome Statute. It provided the basis for discussions going forward in the early Conference planning meetings. This report eventually transitioned into a request for me to join the CICC’s delegation at the Conference in 2010.

Thanks, in part, to the support of the IHRP and the Faculty of Law I was able to attend the Conference in Kampala, Uganda this summer. The experience was an amazing – likely once in my lifetime – opportunity to take part in an international treaty amendment conference. I met with delegates of States and NGOs to discuss the merits of possible amendments to the Rome Statute and the progress of the negotiation process. I also had the opportunity to help facilitate and watch “stock taking” discussions on the status of the Court and of international criminal justice more broadly.

One of the most memorable moments, however, came within twenty‐four hours of arriving in Kampala. As I sat through the
initial NGO strategy meeting the next morning, jetlagged and tired, I heard rumblings of a pick‐up soccer game taking place in the afternoon involving NGOs delegates, as well as representatives of the Court and the UN. I decided to join the game, along with some other CICC delegates. Initially, I thought the police‐escorted shuttle caravan was a bit over the top for a trip to a soccer field; however, my confusion turned to surreal disorientation as I saw the national soccer stadium appear in the distance. It turned out the event was organized by the NGO No Peace Without Justice to provide an opportunity for victims of international crimes to meet with delegates of the Conference in the informal atmosphere of a soccer game. In addition, the game was to be broadcast live on national TV and the stadium to be filled with thou‐ sands of fans. The surreal nature of the experience only increased when, in the final minutes of the game, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and President Museveni of Uganda arrived, decked out in soccer kit. They made their way through the crowd and joined the play on the field.

I am still unsure how I feel about the appropriateness of the event or about the use of “Peace” and “Justice” as the names on the back of jerseys (there was something odd about starting the Conference with Peace and Justice battling it out on the field). Nevertheless, it was, at the very least, a memorable way to kick off the Conference and my time in Uganda.