Global appeal for €10 million to assist 1.7 million victims of sexual violence launched
Press Release
Global appeal for €10 million to assist 1.7 million victims of sexual violence launched
ICC-CPI-20080910-PR353
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The Board of Directors of the Trust Fund for Victims (TFV) today announced a global appeal for €10 million to assist 1.7 million victims of sexual violence within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The launch of the appeal took place during a press conference following the Fifth Annual Meeting of the TFV Board of Directors on 10 September, 2008.
Speaking before ambassadors and journalists, the Chair of the Board of Directors, Madame Simone Veil, explained that the funds will serve to support programmes focusing on communities most affected by situations where the ICC is operating, namely Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Central African Republic (CAR) and Darfur, Sudan. “Women and girls are most often the primary victims of war and civil disturbance – they are victims of rape, abuse and the destruction of families. The Board of Directors of the Trust Fund for Victims believes administering targeted support for those most vulnerable under the jurisdiction of the ICC is necessary”, said Madame Veil.
In an encouraging demonstration of support and as a first response to the appeal a sum of €500,000 was donated towards this appeal by the government of Denmark. Speaking at the briefing, Ambassador HE Ms Kirsten Malling Biering of Denmark commented, “Rape and sexual violence as a means of war is gruesome and devastating for the victims. The crimes also represent an attack on women in general – their standing in society and their fundamental rights. The Trust Fund for Victims has an important role play in mitigating the effects of the crime and assisting the victims“.
His Grace, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu said that he wanted to recognise “those who have been the faceless ones, the anonymous ones, the ones victimised by rape used as a tactic of war” and in the process help to heal wounded communities. “The horrific human costs of war and violence devastate people, societies, and the structures that support them,” he said.
Background information
The Rome Statute created the Trust Fund for Victims to provide support to victims in the form of reparations and material support such as rehabilitation. It reflects the international consensus that justice and peace for victims of the gravest crimes cannot be achieved without their full participation in the ICC judiciary process; or without their involvement in defining and implementing the most appropriate means of reparations and rehabilitation. The Statute uniquely establishes a system in which both retributive and restorative justices are combined. The Trust Fund became operational in 2007.
The Trust Fund works in partnership with local organisations with expertise maximising synergies in support of the needs of victims. The programmes offer integrated community-based responses of physical and psychosocial rehabilitation, economic security and the rebuilding of social networks specifically for victims of sexual violence with the aim of contributing to reconciliation processes. Some illustrative activities include inter alia, fistula repair, trauma counselling, the provision of sanitary supplies and referrals to HIV and reproductive health services; screening and intake centres; job training programmes for victims; community awareness of sexual violence to address stigma and discrimination; special initiatives for children born out of rape; and the reintegration into communities of men and boys who have raped.
Currently, 34 projects have been approved and will be implemented in northern Uganda and the DRC before the end of the year. Additional projects are being considered for the situations relating to Darfur, in Sudan and CAR.
Trust Fund for Victims Donor Appeal (English)
For further information please contact Ms Claudia Perdomo, Acting Head of Public Information and Documentation Section at +31 (0)70 515-8514 or +31 (0) 625221177 or at [email protected] . For further information on the Trust Fund for Victims please consult the ICC website.
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