Motoo Noguchi elected Chair of the Board of Directors of the Trust Fund for Victims

The Board of Directors of the Trust Fund for Victims (TFV) at the International Criminal Court elected Mr Motoo Noguchi as its Chair, at the 10th Annual Meeting of the Board in The Hague on 19 March 2013. Noguchi is amongst the five members of the Fund’s Board of Directors elected by the Assembly of States Parties in November 2012. He will serve as Chair of the TFV Board until November 2015. 

Upon his election, Motoo Noguchi expressed his gratitude about the confidence expressed by his fellow Board members. “The Trust Fund for Victims is on the verge of entering a defining phase in its development. It is an honour to be called to the position of Chair and I see it as my duty to work with the Trust Fund Board and Secretariat, as well as with the ICC and States Parties, to ensure that victims and affected communities within the jurisdiction of the Court are recognised and will be effectively supported by the Trust Fund in order to regain their dignity and rebuild their lives.”

Noguchi praised Ms Elisabeth Rehn, who held the position of Chair during the Board’s previous mandate (2010-2012), for her strong personal drive and unwavering dedication to the Trust Fund for Victims during the past three years, which have greatly helped to strengthen the Fund’s visibility and reputation.

Justice Noguchi (Japan) was in the Supreme Court Chamber at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) from the inception until July 2012. He is currently Director of the International Cooperation Department of Research & Training Institute of the Ministry of Justice in Japan, concurrently advising the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on international criminal justice. Since 1985 he has held various professional positions in Japan and abroad, including prosecutor, counsel to the Asian Development Bank based in Manila, professor at UNAFEI (United Nations Asia and Far East Institute), and visiting professor at the University of Tokyo.

Attending the Board meeting were the President of the Assembly of States Parties, Ambassador Intelmann, as well as ICC Principals President Song, Prosecutor Bensouda and Registrar Arbia. They congratulated the Trust Fund Board and Motoo Noguchi personally on the election result, noting the interdependence of the ICC and TFV in the joint pursuit of achieving reparative justice for victims in the framework of the Rome Statute. They expressed the wish that the mutual cooperation between the institutions continues to develop in the same positive and constructive manner as before.

The Trust Fund Board of Directors (2012-2015) is composed as follows:

• Sayeman Bula-Bula (Democratic Republic of the Congo, representing African States Parties)
• Motoo Noguchi, Chair (Japan, representing Asian States Parties)
• Elisabeth Rehn (Finland, representing Western European and Other Group States Parties)
• Denys Toscano Amores (Ecuador, representing Latin American and Caribbean States Parties)
• Vaira Vike-Freiberga (Latvia, representing Eastern European States Parties)

For further information, please contact [email protected].

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