Latin America and the ICC: facing impunity in Colombia

In arder to understand the degree to which the lnternational Criminal Court ( ICC) - the purpose ofwhich is to combat impunity for crimes againsthumanity committed after 1 July 2002- we must evaluate how the international community has reacted to it. and the degree to which it is implementing the fundamental principies consecrated by the Rome Statute. The ICC depends on the support of regions to work efficiently. G iven that reactions to it ha ve varied from region to region. this can have a serious impact on its effectiveness. This article examines the leve! of Latin American cooperation with the ICC. Various countries ofthat region were particularly receptive toward the project of establishing a permanent international criminal court. But the real test of commitment will come when there is an investigation of ( and even judicial proceedings against) Latin American nationals, or of and against a situation occurring in a Latin American country. The case ofColombia, a country which has been the stage for innumerable violations of human rights over the past decades and where the conflict is still producing victims, can be a real test case. But we need to know whether ali the legal requirements that allow the organs ofthe Court to act are present, and to evaluate the way in which the ICC could become a large or small part of a strategy to combat impunity for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Colombia.