On 19-20 September 2024, the International Criminal Court ("ICC" or "the Court") held a seminar on "Medical Matters in Detention".
The Seminar was organised at the initiative of the ICC Registry and in consultation with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Detention Centre's independent inspecting authority.
For two days, ICRC experts, medical experts, doctors and medical practitioners, legal advisors, human rights lawyers, prison administrations and other medical and detention stakeholders from national, regional and international settings were present. More than 55 external participants from 38 organisations coming from the regions of Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, Western Europe and Other States with expertise in medical and detention fields attended the seminar.
Participants shared their expertise, lessons learned and best practices on medical matters in detention environments, and engaged in fruitful discussions on key medical issues at the ICC Detention Centre, with a view of promoting the highest standards of detention and strengthening the Court's mandate.
The seminar was opened by Judge Reine Alapini-Gansou, Second Vice-President of the ICC, who stressed that the right to health is a fundamental human right and that, at the Court, the living conditions of the detained persons at the ICC Detention Centre are a high priority. She further emphasized that the seminar offers a unique opportunity to discuss the triangular interaction between detained persons, medical practice and criminal justice.
In his opening remarks, Registrar Osvaldo Zavala Giler, highlighted that the seminar "provides a crucially important platform for exchanges in a particularly sensitive and complex interdisciplinary area", noting further that the participation and diverse background of the participants made this seminar "meaningful and impactful, and gives the ICC the opportunity to identify areas in which to make further progress in light of evolving developments in custodial settings".
Speakers included Judge Nancy Hernández López, President of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, who delivered in a keynote presentation about an approach to specific medical requirements in detention from a human rights perspective in the Interamerican system of human rights.
Agenda of the seminar: English, French.
The seminar was co-funded by the European Union.
