ICC Trust Fund for Victims assists over 80,000 victims, raises reparations reserve

ICC Trust Fund for Victims assists over 80,000 victims, raises reparations reserve

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Image Annual meeting of the TFV Board of Directors in The Hague © ICC-CPI

In the wake of the first verdict by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, the Board of Directors of the Trust Fund for Victims at the ICC convened for its annual meeting in The Hague, from 20 to 22 March 2012. As the Trust Fund will play an important part in Court-ordered reparations, the Board considered its roles and responsibilities and decided to increase the Fund’s financial reserve to complement ICC reparations awards with 200,000 euros, to a level of 1.2 million euros. The Trust Fund also launched a short movie, illustrating its assistance to victims of crimes within the jurisdiction of the ICC.

Ms Elisabeth Rehn, Chair of the TFV Board of Directors, observed in a speech at the occasion of the Board meeting that “over the past four years, the Trust Fund for Victims has made a tangible difference to over 80,000 victims in the DRC and northern Uganda. We have seen children made into combatants – and therefore into targets of violence. Rape is used as a weapon to systematically destroy people’s lives and identities as worthy members of society – and so, to destroy communities. By providing medical and psycho-social services, as well as material support, the Trust Fund has assisted victims to rebuild their lives, and to regain their human dignity”.

In regard to the possibility that reparations may be awarded in the Lubanga case, Ms Rehn confirmed the intention of the Trust Fund to develop a fruitful partnership with the Court to make reparations a meaningful and tangible reality for victims. She pointed out that the Rome Statute’s principle that “the perpetrator pays” for reparations should not be an empty phrase and called upon the Court and States Parties to intensify efforts to identify and freeze assets of persons accused before the ICC, for the eventual purpose of financing Court-ordered reparations.

Ms Rehn also confirmed that the TFV is managing its own resources, originating from voluntary contributions, in such a way as to be able to complement Court-ordered reparations in the case that a convicted person is indigent. The Board decided to raise the financial reserve to complement ICC reparations awards with 200,000 euros to 1.2 million euros, which is more than one half of the Fund’s current annual disbursement. The Trust Fund may at a later stage raise a call for funds earmarked for reparations.

In 2011, the total revenue of the Trust Fund for Victims from voluntary contributions was 3.2 million euros – the highest annual revenue ever and more than twice the amount of 2010. Ms Rehn observed that this is “an excellent result and we are extremely grateful – but we also realize that it is, still, quite modest”.

Ms Rehn concluded by noting that “according to the Rome Statute, victims are not passive bystanders. They have a right to be heard, to be recognized, to receive redress – and to rebuild their lives and regain their dignity as human beings – not only as ‘victims’”.

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Background: The Trust Fund for Victims (TFV)

The Trust Fund for Victims (TFV) is the first of its kind in the global movement to end impunity and promote justice. At the end of one of the bloodiest centuries in human history, the international community made a commitment to end impunity, help prevent the gravest crimes known to humanity and bring justice to victims with the adoption of the Rome Statute. In 2002, the Rome Statute came into effect and the Assembly of States Parties established the TFV under article 79 of the Rome Statute, to benefit victims of crimes within the jurisdiction of the ICC, and their families. These crimes are genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression.

The TFV addresses and responds to the physical, psychological, or material needs of the most vulnerable victims. It raises public awareness and mobilizes people, ideas and resources. It funds innovative projects through intermediaries to relieve the suffering of the often forgotten survivors. The TFV works closely with NGOs, community groups, women’s grassroots organisations, governments, and UN agencies at local, national, and international levels. By focusing on local ownership and leadership, the TFV empowers victims as main stakeholders in the process of rebuilding their lives.

With the unique roles of implementing both Court-ordered and general assistance to victims of crimes under the ICC’s jurisdiction, the Trust Fund for Victims offers key advantages for promoting lasting peace, reconciliation, and wellbeing in war-torn societies. The TFV fulfils two mandates for victims of crimes under jurisdiction of the ICC:

1. Reparations: implementing Court-ordered reparations awards against a convicted person when directed by the Court to do so.

2. General Assistance: using voluntary contributions from donors to provide victims and their families in situations where the Court is active with physical rehabilitation, material support, and/or psychological rehabilitation.

Currently, the TFV is providing a broad range of support under its second mandate in northern Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo – including access to reproductive health services, vocational training, trauma-based counselling, reconciliation workshops, reconstructive surgery and more – to over 80,000 victims of crimes under the ICC's jurisdiction. Most of its projects have incorporated both gender-specific and child-specific interventions to support the special vulnerability of women, girls, and boys.

There are currently seven situations before the ICC, in Northern Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Darfur, the Central African Republic (CAR), Kenya, Libya and Côte d’Ivoire.

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Ms Rehn’s speech can be viewed here; the text is here. Media can download audio and video versions for broadcasting.

For more information on the Trust Fund for Victims, visit www.trustfundforvictims.org

For further information, please contact Fadi El Abdallah, Spokesperson and Head of Public Affairs Unit, International Criminal Court, by telephone at: +31 (0)70 515-9152 or +31 (0)6 46448938 or by e-mail at: [email protected].

You can also follow the Court’s activities on YouTube and Twitter.

Source: Le Fonds au profit des victimes