The importance of Iraq's accession to the International Criminal Court and its importance for the Kurdistan Region

Abstract

The International Criminal Court was established in 1998 after half a century of efforts by the United Nations and legal experts, which is considered an achievement for international criminal justice.
Iraq, as a multi-national and multicultural country, has gone through many significant disasters, destruction, and wars during the past century like (genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and crimes of aggression). The country’s citizens have become victims of these crimes, were committed against religious and ethnic sects, including the Kurdistan region people, who have the lion's share.
During the period of the previous regime’s rule, Iraq refused to join the court under the justification that the court has been politicized, the domination of powerful countries over it, and the protection of state sovereignty. However, after 2003 and the changes were happened in the political system and the Iraq’s openness to democracy, the Iraqi government during the era of( Ayad Allawi ) signed the Treaty of Rome in order to became a member of the court, but unfortunately soon regretted withdrawing their signature and refusing to join the Roma Statute. However, there has been a strong internal movement, especially from the Kurdistan region, to encourage Iraqi Government to join the International Criminal Court, and through this Article we will discuss the importance of Iraq's accession to the court and its effects on the Kurdistan region.