The meeting afforded State representatives a platform to pledge or reaffirm financial contributions to the IIIM. While early estimates set the IIIM’s annual operating cost at $13 million, expenditures are now expected to be higher. Over 30 countries have already pledged contributions, but funding still falls short of the $13 million threshold. And as representatives from Liechtenstein and The Netherlands noted, the IIIM still has not garnered contributions for its second year of operations (during the event the Dutch Foreign Minister was the first to pledge funds for year two). Until the UN integrates IIIM funding into its regular operational budget, the Mechanism will be financed entirely by Member States’ voluntary contributions. UN regular budget financing is critical to the long-term survival of the Mechanism and should be approved expeditiously.

The meeting also highlighted the need for individual States to adjust their national codes in order to facilitate close cooperation with the IIIM. Because the IIIM does not have any prosecutorial powers on its own, its investigators must submit case files to prosecutors in national jurisdictions. Thus, States may need to adopt certain legal or procedural measures to ensure they can contribute data to the Mechanism and accept cases prepared by the IIIM in their respective jurisdictions. In the past, several states adopted such measures in order to cooperate with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Liechtenstein was the first State to announce it would adjust its national codes in preparation for work with the IIIM. Others must follow in order to guarantee that the Mechanism’s material is most efficiently and effectively utilized.