Kampala — UGANDA has been chosen to host the next revision conference of the Rome Statute.

The country was chosen out of 108 State Parties of the International Criminal Court (ICC),

The decision was taken at the seventh plenary meeting of the criminal court on Friday. The conference also discussed the permanent premises of the court and the 2009 budget.

A Statement from The Hague yesterday said, "The objective of the Kampala conference will be to discuss the crime of aggression.

The states have been working for more than 10 years to write the legal definition of this crime, on which the Permanent Court theoretically has jurisdiction."

It said the five-day conference would take place during the first semester of 2010. The dates are yet to be established by the Bureau of the Assembly, which is consulting with the Government.

According to the agreement, in the event of unforeseen developments, the timing, the venue and other modalities of the conference may be revisited.

The assembly also accepted the host state to provide a loan of about 200 million Euros for the construction of the court's permanent premises.

The loan would be repaid over a period of 30 years at an interest of 2.5%

The assembly also approved a budget of over 101 million Euros and a staffing level of 744.

According to the statement, giving Uganda the status of host country was adopted by consensus, although the Club of the Friends of Law of Congo, a Congolese organisation for the defence of human rights, was opposed to the proposal.

"How can we speak about aggression in a country which was convicted by the International Court of Justice?" The president of the association, Eugène Bakama Bope, asked.

Bakama argued that Uganda was on December 19, 2005, convicted by the International Court, after a complaint filed by the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The International Court is charged with settling disagreements between countries.

Justice and constitutional affairs state minister Frederick Ruhindi said Uganda was in the heart of the Great Lakes Region and the conference would help the States Parties, the civil society and the victims to understand the court better.