On 23 October 2015, representatives of African Union Member States gathered in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) for a joint seminar co-hosted by the African Union (AU) and the International Criminal Court (ICC) to establish greater engagement and mutual understanding. This was the fourth joint AU/ICC seminar of a technical nature held at AU headquarters, the first one being held on 18 and 19 July 2011.
Seminar participants included representatives of the Permanent Missions of the African Union Member States and the Regional Economic Communities as well as Officials of the African Union Commission and ICC. The event was held with the support of the International Organisation of La Francophonie and the European Union.
The meeting focused on complementarity and how to build the capacity of national institutions to deal with international crimes. The speakers also discussed the role of the ICC and the future African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples' Rights.
The ICC is the first permanent, treaty-based, international criminal court established to help end impunity for the perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community, namely war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.