18TH SESSION OF THE ASSEMBLY OF STATES PARTIES TO THE ROME STATUTE
Day 3 (4 December 2019)
Name of the Event: The Value of a Harm-Based, Victim Centered Approach to Reparative Justice (Side Event hosted by the Board of Directors of the Trust Fund for Victims)
Overview by: Signe Wolf Børm, Junior Research Associate PILPG-NL
Main Highlights:
Reparations are essential to ensure victims reintegration into society.
States Parties to the Rome Statute should contribute to the Trust Fund for Victims.
Collective and individual reparations have different outcomes for the individuals within a community. Mr. Fidel concluded that collective reparations are important, but alone they cannot respond to all the needs of the victims.
Summary of the Event:
This side event, co-sponsored by the governments of Chile, Finland, Ireland, Mali, and Sweden focused on a harm-based, victim centered approach to reparative justice. Pieter de Baan, Executive director of the Trust Fund for Victims (TVF) as introductory remark noted that the title of the event ‘The Value of a Harm-Based, Victim Centered Approach to Reparative Justice’, was chosen to reflect that a harm-based and victim centered approach when compensating victims is essential based on the Rome Statute system.
The first keynote remark was provided by Malick Coulibaly, the Minister of Justice of Mali. Mr. Coulibaly underlined the importance of the TVF, which provides victims with support, whether it is physical, psychological, or material. It was further noted that Mali had contributed to the TFV and that other countries should do so too.
H.E. Kevin Kelly, Ambassador of Ireland to the Netherlands, mentioned that accountability for international crimes is one of the key objectives of the ICC. With investigations, trials, and decisions in cases of crimes against humanity, genocide, or war crimes, there are always victims. The lives of the victims must be rebuild with dignity and the aim of the TVF is therefore to deliver tangible imperative value to the victims, families, and communities. H.E. Mr. Kelly was a part of a delegation of States Parties which went to Uganda in 2018 to see the work and progress of the TFV first hand. The delegation was happy with the progress the TVF, for instance relating to physical and psycho-social support for the victims, but H.E. Mr. Kelly highlighted that sustained work over a number of years will be necessary. The responsibility however is ultimately that of the states. Lastly, H.E. Mr. Kelly noted that Ireland has this year made a voluntary contribution of 200.000 Euros and urged other States Parties to contribute to the TFV.
Mariana Durney from the Chilean ministry of foreign affairs spoke next, stating that the harm-based and victim centered approach corresponds with the established approach by the ICC. Ms. Durney further stated that reparations can take multiple forms, including restitution, compensation, and rehabilitation, which can be awarded both on an individual and collective basis, depending on the harm caused and facts of the case. The importance of the Court being capable of communicating and inviting the affected people to testify was therefore considered necessary to understand the full scale of atrocities that took place. The Court hearing the victims experiences was deemed necessary to award the appropriate reparations, which in turn will allow victims to recover and reintegrate into their societies. Once again the lack of funding was mentioned as difficulty in reaching those goals.
Hereafter Felipe Michelini, the Chair of the Board of Directors of the TFV discussed the value of the victim centered approach due to its recognition of the victims and the horrible acts they have suffered. Mr. Michelini stated that, listening to the victims, recognizing them and their dignity and that they are worth being heard, is important, particularly considering that perpetrators tell them that no one will listen to them. Victims furthermore need support in the judicial process, where they are exposed to re-traumatization. An issue that was highlighted in this regard was that states like to refer to victim centered approaches and are willing to allocate resources to trials but not to reparations. This argument is reflected in the resources allocated to the TFV being very small compared to those of the trials. The minimal budget allocated to victims does however not diminish the fact that the best possible results should be delivered, and the obligation of the States Parties to repair can therefore not be set aside.
Upon the keynote remarks, a general debate was initiated, where Fidel Nsita Luvengika, the Legal Representative of Victims in the Katanga and Al-Hassan cases, stated that it was found that reparations given to collectives for example in the form of a well, means that the individual victims do not find anything for themselves, to be able to build up a home and a life again. This is due to victims being left without homes, as these have been looted or destroyed during the atrocities and are left with no financial resources. A well or a hospital was therefore explained as being important to rebuild communities, but these forms of reparation will not enable the victims to reestablish a normal life. It was moreover stated that victims are happy when a sentence is given to the perpetrator but when the victims are asked to forgive, they deny doing so because they are not being given reparations, despite the perpetrator having to do so. Perpetrators are generally not capable to compensate, which necessitates TFV help with reparations instead. Mr. Fidel Nsita Luvengika concluded that collective reparations are important, but alone they cannot respond to all the needs of the victims.
Karine Bonneau (Global Survivors Fund) explained the mandate of the Global Survivors Fund, stating that the organization works with survivors of sexual and gender based violence. She noted that the survivors of sexual and gender based violence have never been highly prioritized by the international community. With reparations and the right support, the victims will be able to reintegrate into their society. The Global Survivors Fund therefore has a goal to ensure that these victims receive reparations and other forms of redress. The Fund has three functions 1) allocation of financial resources for local education, 2) technical assistance and, 3) access to reparations. Lastly, the Fund is survivor centric, and it will be fully effective in 2020. The Global Survivors Fund wish is to collaborate with states and the Fund should therefore be seen as complementary to national efforts, in an effort of transforming the lives of survivors and shift the international policy agenda to promote reparations. A side note that was mentioned was that where the perpetrator is not convicted, no compensation will be afforded to the victims and the international efforts are of core importance within this area.
Lastly Mama Koité Doumbia and Gocha Lordkipanidze, both TFV board members, closed the session by stating that it is essential to support the TFV. Support is both needed in awareness raising aimed at the public and private sector as well as the general public. States Parties were moreover urged to voluntarily contribute financially to the TFV. This was highlighted as being of core importance, as to ensure that victims are recognized.