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  • Communiqué du Fonds au Profit des Victimes - Situation en République centraficaine

     

     

     

                            COMMUNIQUE DU FONDS AU PROFIT DES VICITMES                                        
                            Situation en République centrafricaine

    La Haye, 12 décembre 2011

    Le Fonds au profit des Victimes a lancé le 5 mai 2011, en République Centrafricaine, un appel à

    manifestation d’intérêt pour la réhabilitation des victimes de violences fondées sur le genre relevant de la

    compétence de la Cour Pénale Internationale.

    Les organisations intéressées avaient jusqu’au 5 août 2011 pour soumettre leur proposition d’idée grâce à

    un formulaire largement diffusé, notamment au cours d’une réunion d’information organisée le 1 Juin 2011

    à Bangui par le Fonds.

    Dix neuf propositions d’idées ont été reçues dans les délais. Le Fonds au profit des Victimes a procédé à

    la revue technique desdites propositions.

    Aux termes de la revue, il ressort que :

    ‑Dix organisations n’ont pas rempli les critères cumulatifs de pre‑sélection à savoir

    1) être officiellement enregistrée auprès des autorités centrafricaines,

    2) être opérationnelle sur le territoire de laRépublique Centrafricaine depuis au moins deux ans,

    3) soumettre une proposition d’dée au moyen du canevas.

    ‑Neuf organisations ont été présélectionnées car remplissaient les critères pre-listés et ont soumis des

    propositions d’dées ayant retenu l’attention du Fonds au Profit des Victimes : ces organisations seront

    invitées à Bangui en février 2012, où sera organisé un atelier afin de les aider à développer les propositions

    de projet finales dans le respect du mandat du Fonds au Profit des Victimes.

    Le Fonds remercie l’ensemble des organisations ayant répondu à l’ppel à manifestation d’intérêt.

    Pour toute information sur l’ppel à manifestation d’ntérêt, merci de Aude Le Goff, Coordonatrice régionale

    des programmes du Fonds au Profit des Victimes, aude.legoff@icc‑pi.int

  • Swedish donation is significant boost to resources Trust Fund for Victims

    Swedish donation is significant boost to resources Trust Fund for Victims

     
    New York, 16 December 2012
     
     
    The Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) has announced a voluntary contribution of 10 million Swedish crowns - approximately 1.1 million Euros - to the Trust Fund for Victims at the International Criminal Court.
    The announcement was made by the Swedish Government at the occasion of the 10th annual meeting of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute, which established both the Court and the Trust Fund.

     

     According to the statement of Sweden, “victims’ participation and right to reparations are unique and essential features of the Rome Statute. We encourage more States Parties to contribute to the Fund’s valuable work for victims of atrocities.”
     
    Ms. Elisabeth Rehn, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Trust Fund for Victims expressed her gratitude to the Swedish Government for the largest single contribution in the history of the Trust Fund. She stated that, “this generous contribution will help to rehabilitate thousands of victim survivors who have suffered terrible atrocities in places like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, northern Uganda and the Central African Republic. This donation is also very timely given that we may be facing decisions on several cases at the ICC next year and the Trust Fund may be asked to assist the Court with implementing reparations.”
     
     Ms. Rehn also confirmed that, “SIDA has now established a precedent for other donors given that the contribution has been announced as multi-year funding and is not earmarked, thus allowing the Trust Fund to be flexible in their ability to deliver rehabilitation assistance and reparations to the most vulnerable victims under the jurisdiction of the ICC.”
     
     
     The Swedish donation constitutes the single largest donation to the Trust Fund to date. It comes without restrictions or earmarking and may therefore be used for both of the Trust Funds mandates: victims’ assistance in situations before the Court, and the implementation of Court-orders for reparation to victims in particular cases before the Court. So far, the Trust Fund has reached out to over 80,000 victims in northern Uganda and the DRC by providing physical and psycho-social rehabilitation services, as well as material support. The ICC’s first-ever award for reparations, which will trigger the Trust Fund implementation mandate, is anticipated to occur in 2012.
     
     
     
     
    The website www.TrustFundforVictims.org provides information on the mandates and activities of the Trust Fund, including the following recently published documents:
     
    Report of the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Trust Fund for Victims to the 10th meeting of Assembly of States Parties (12 December 2012)
     
    Earmarked Support for the Trust Fund for Victims” – TFV Programme Progress Report, (Winter 2012)
     
    On the Reparations Mandate of the Trust Fund for Victims” (December 2012)
     
  • On the Reparations Mandate of the Trust Fund for Victims

     

    On the Reparations Mandate of the Trust Fund for Victims

     
    Victims have an important stake in proceedings before the International Criminal Court (ICC). Next to the right to participate in proceedings, they also have a right to reparations, once an accused person has been convicted. This important innovation of international criminal law by the Rome Statute holds the promise of an unprecedented avenue of international reparative justice, for victims of the most serious crimes. 
    The delivery on this promise will be in the hands of the ICC – and of the Trust Fund for Victims (TFV), another creation of the Rome Statute. The Trust Fund has a crucial role to play in the implementation of Court-ordered reparations. The Trust Fund is capable of transforming Court-ordered reparations into credible and tangible forms of redress for victims of crimes adjudicated by the ICC.
    Next to its reparations mandate, the Trust Fund for Victims is also mandated to provide various forms of assistance to victims, and their families, in as far as they have been harmed by crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court. In contrast to reparations, which are always linked to a conviction in a particular case before the ICC, the Trust Fund’s victim assistance mandate allows it to respond to the needs of victims in the entire territory of the situation that is recognized within the jurisdiction the ICC. The Trust Fund has administered this mandate since 2008 in northern Uganda and the DRC.
    As the first verdict(s) in cases before the ICC are on the horizon, the triggering of the Rome Statute’s reparation regime is now widely anticipated. This briefing paper – which is not a legal document – focuses on how, considering the Trust Fund’s implementation mandate, such reparations may translate into reality. Key questions are: Who decides on what? Who stand to benefit? Who delivers? And - who pays?
    Who decides on what? Structures and forms of ICC reparations
    Please read further here
  • Chair of TVF Board, Ms. Elisabeth Rehn, speaks at opening of ASP in New York

    Madame President,

    Your Excellencies,

    Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

    I wish to start with congratulating, on behalf of the Trust Fund’s Board of Directors, Ambassador Intelmann with being elected the new President of the Assembly of States Parties. There is no doubt that you be will be a strong and dedicated guiding force for all of us, in these challenging times ahead. I also wish to acknowledge the out-going President, Ambassador Wenaweser, for his excellent and most constructive leadership over the past years, and in particular for the strong interest that he has always taken in the Trust Fund for Victims. Surely our paths will continue to cross!

    It is an honour for me to represent the Board of the Trust Fund for Victims in the coming ASP. I also wish to note that I am not alone: two other Board members are here as well: Ms. Betty Murungi and Dr Eduardo Pizarro Leongomez.

    The International Criminal Court is steadily shaping up to its mandate to become an undeniable force of justice in the fight against impunity. Not a day passes by without the ICC featuring in the world press.

    Read the full text here.

  • TFV Launches Winter 2011 Programme Progress Report at 10th ASP in New York

    The Trust Fund for Victims launched its Winter 2011 Programme Progress Report at the 10th Assembly of States Parties in New York.

    The full report (in English) is avilable here (pdf).

    One important feature of the Trust Fund’s operations is our ability to work with earmarked donations. This allows us to address the needs of particular groups of victims, or to respond to our need for specific types of expertise.

    So far, the Trust Fund’s most significant undertaking with earmarked funding – in terms of volume of funding as well as substance – has been related to victims of sexual and gender based violence (SGBV). In 2008, the Trust fund’s Board launched a call to raise funds earmarked for SGBV victims, which was intended to have a duration of three years. To date, the resulting income amounts to over 1.7m Euros.

    This report documents the Trust Fund’s experiences with programming using earmarked funding. You will find that the focus on victims of SGBV – a type crime recurring in the majority of charges brought by the ICC – has not only allowed the TFV and its implementing partners to recognise and address the specific needs of these victims. It has also helped to fight the additional social stigma to which victims of SGBV are subjected. The TFV now intends to expand the successes and lessons learned of its work with victims of SGBV to the upcoming programme in the Central African Republic. You will furthermore read about the use of earmarked funding for the benefit of child soldiers and the development of the Secretariat’s legal expertise.

    Our overall conclusion from the use of earmarked funding to date is that it has greatly helped the Trust Fund to develop in two ways. It has enabled us to streamline operations in regard to particular groups of victims within the jurisdiction of the Court. This has proven to be an increasingly attractive rallying point for potential and existing donors. True, earmarked contributions should be balanced by an important stream of noncommitted funding, so as to allow the Trust Fund to remain responsive to the needs of other victims as well as to new situations. Nevertheless, we estimate that earmarked funding will continue to play an important role in the development and growth of the Trust Fund’s resources.

    In the near future, the practice of earmarked funding may well be extended to a topic of particular interest to the Trust Fund and its supporters, both public and private: the further development of the Trust Fund’s ability to complement Courtordered reparations.

    Pieter de Baan

    Executive Director, Trust Fund for Victims

     

  • ED Pieter de Baan Speaks about TFV, Assistance, Reparations to Open Society Justice Initiative

    Pieter W.I. de Baan is the Executive Director of the Trust Fund for Victims at the International Criminal Court (ICC). He agreed to speak with the Open Society Justice Initiative last month and answer questions about the work of the Trust Fund and its role in assisting victims of mass atrocities. This article appeared yesterday on websites monitoring the trials of Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, Jean-Pierre Bemba, Thomas Lubanga, and the ICC's Kenya proceedings. The story was also picked up by AllAfrica.com. The Open Society Justice Initiative is here.

    Jennifer Easterday: What does the Trust Fund for Victims do?

    Pieter W.I. de Baan: The Trust Fund for Victims (TFV or Trust Fund) is the first of its kind in the global movement to end impunity and promote justice. It supports activities which address the harm resulting from the crimes under jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC or Court): victims of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed after 1 July 2002, and their families. The TFV develops its activities with victims themselves as partners, helping them rebuild their families and communities and return to a dignified and contributory life within their communities...

    ...continue reading

  • The Netherlands contributes € 250.000 to Trust Fund for Victims

    The Hague – On 23 August 2011, the Netherlands Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Uri Rosenthal, announced a voluntary contribution of € 250,000 to the Trust Fund for Victims (TFV).
     
    The announcement was made during a meeting in The Hague with Elisabeth Rehn, Chair of the Board of Directors of the TFV, and Pieter de Baan, Executive Director of the TFV.
     
    According to Minister Rosenthal, the Dutch contribution signals the importance attached to the TFV to be able, next to the International Criminal Court (ICC), to positively contribute to the lives and dignity of victims within the jurisdiction of the ICC. “This contribution reflects the commitment of the Government of The Netherlands to the rights and needs of victims of the most serious crimes.”
     
    In 2010, the Netherlands contributed 57,000 US Dollars to the TFV, earmarked for child victims. The new contribution of the Netherlands will be dedicated to the activities of the TFV under its rehabilitation mandate.
     
    Ms Elisabeth Rehn stated her delight at the important contribution of the Netherlands Government to the Trust Fund. She expressed the Board’s wish that this continued engagement would develop into a long-standing partnership: “It will be important to grow and nurture the resources of the TFV, as we are reaching out to victims in an increasing number of situations before the Court. Also, we are anticipating the activation of the Trust Fund for Victims’ mandate to implement Court-ordered reparations.”
     
    Ms Rehn noted the TFV Board’s commitment to maintain a significant part of the Trust Fund’s resources for its mandate to implement Court-ordered reparations. This will enable the TFV Board to complement reparations awards in case a convicted person has insufficient resources to pay directly for reparations. She emphasized the importance that the TFV Board attaches to the development of strong a collaborative relationship with the ICC.
     
    Over the past four years, the TFV has worked with over 30 local and international partners in northern Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to support over 80,000 victims under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC). In early 2012, the TFV will start activities in the Central African Republic, focusing on victims of sexual violence. 
     
    The August 2011 TFV activities report can be found here.
     
    Contact: Ms. Gaëlle van der Meerendonk at gaelle.vandermeerendonk@icc-cpi.int
  • TFV Sixth Programme Progress Report Summer 2011

    On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Trust Fund for Victims, I am proud to present the Summer 2011 TFV Programme Progress Report (PPR).
     
    This report shows that the Trust Fund for Victims (TFV) is rapidly maturing as a unique institution, not only increasing its footprint, but also developing its singular fingerprint in supporting victims of crimes that fall under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
     
    Bucking the trend of the dire global economic situation, the Fund’s income is steadily increasing. A notable donation was the contribution of half a million British Pounds by the United Kingdom, in March this year. We view this growing support to reflect the acknowledgment within the donor community of the TFV’s important mission and performance. We can now build on four years solid experience of implementing our rehabilitation mandate, which has allowed the TFV to engage with victim survivors and their communities in situations recognised by the Court. We are preparing for our mandate related to the implementation of Court-ordered reparations to victims, which may soon be triggered once the ICC arrives at its first conviction.
     
    Both of the TFV’s mandates are without international precedent and have their own legal and operational dimensions. Yet, as they will come into play next to each other, we are confident that their interaction will strengthen the bond between the Trust Fund for Victims and the International Criminal Court – a partnership that can only be qualified a success when it delivers tangible and credible results to victims on the ground.
     
    By now, the assistance provided through the TFV is reaching over 80,000 beneficiaries in two situations, northern Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). We are preparing to start activities in the Central African Republic by early 2012. Our work would be impossible without the efforts of our intermediaries: local and international implementing partners. In consultation with these partners, the TFV’s Secretariat has identified four areas where to demonstrate impact, across the two mandates: justice and reconciliation, health and well-being, social support and integration, and material security. The report richly describes on-going efforts and results being achieved in these areas, as well as in cross-cutting themes such as gender. I encourage you to read with special attention about the assistance provided by the TFV to victims of sexual and gender based violence, largely made possible by earmarked voluntary contributions by Norway, Finland and Germany.
     
    Achieving visible results will always be important for the TFV. No less important is our ability to demonstrate what kind ofdifference we make. To the lives and hopes of our beneficiaries, indeed, but then always in consideration of the Rome Statute’s ambition to take into account the particular rights and needs of victims of the most serious crimes, who often fall in between the cracks of mainstream assistance efforts. Chapter II of this report provides examples of the TFV’s emerging singular institutional fingerprint, including economic empowerment and reconstructive surgery in northern Uganda and psychosocial support and psychological counselling in DRC.
     
    The TFV’s particular brand of operational intelligence should be useful when considering awards for Court-ordered reparations. The TFV Board of Directors, at their annual meeting in March 2011, recognised their responsibility for the sound and transparent financial management of the TFV’s resources, including the reserve set aside to complement reparations awards. The Board also confirms its intent to build a strong and respectful collaborative relationship with the ICC.
     
    As the Trust Fund for Victims strives to develop into an international beacon of reparative justice, it can only succeed in partnership with the ICC, with its donors, with national and local authorities, with civil society organisations – and in partnership with victims and their communities.
     
     
    Pieter de Baan, Executive Director, Secretariat, Trust Fund for Victims
  • RCA: REPONSES AUX QUESTIONS FREQUEMMENT POSEES

    Réunion société civile, Bangui

    (télécharger des questions/réponses complètes)

     

    Sur l’action du Fonds au profit des Victimes (FPV)

     

    Si séparés au niveau institutionnel, quels sont les ‘ponts' entre la CPI et le FPV?

    • Le Fonds au profit des Victimes a été créé en même temps que la Cour Pénale Internationale. Administrativement le FPV relève du greffe de la Cour Pénale Internationale, mais est gouverné par un Conseil de Direction composé de personnes de haute moralité, répondant directement á l’Assemblée des Etats Parties.

    Les 'ponts' entre la CPI et le FPV, au niveau opérationnel, sont entre autres les suivants: 

    • le staff du secrétariat du FPV est rattaché au Greffe
    • dans le cadre de son premier mandat, le Fonds exécutera des ordonnance de réparation prononcées par les juges de la CPI
    • dans le cadre du deuxième mandat, la Chambre compétence de la CPI est saisie par le FPV afin de vérifier que les projets et activités que le Fonds entend soutenir ne préjudicient pas d’une question relevant de la compétence des juges ou les droits de la défense et le droit á un procès juste et équitable.
    • Le Fonds agit pour les victimes des crimes relevant de la compétence de la CPI.

     

     

    télécharger des questions/réponses complètes

     

     

     

  • LE FONDS AU PROFIT DES VICTIMES OUVRE SES PROGRAMMES EN RCA

    Bangui, le 1er juin 2011
     
    LE FONDS AU PROFIT DES VICTIMES OUVRE SES PROGRAMMES  EN RCA
     
    Le Fonds au Profit des Victimes (FPV), lié à la Cour Pénale Internationale (CPI), vient d’annoncer formellement le lancement de ses activités en République Centrafricaine.
     
    Lors d’une visite à Bangui de cinq jours,  M. Pieter de Baan, Directeur exécutif du Secrétariat du Fonds, a présenté  le Fonds, sa raison d’être, ses ambitions et à clarifier les attentes que pourrait susciter l’appel à manifestation d’intérêt en RCA publié le 6 mai 2011.  Il a expliqué que le Fonds au Profit des Victimes a été créé suite à une volonté de la communauté internationale d’établir un instrument indépendant et sans précédent de  justice réparatrice pour les victimes des crimes internationaux les plus graves. Le FPV est fortement lié à la Cour Pénale Internationale (CPI) grâce au Statut de Rome qu’ils ont en commun. De ce fait, le Fonds n’appartient donc pas à la CPI; il est géré par un Conseil de Direction indépendant et constitué de personnes d’une haute moralité.
    Selon Pieter de Baan, “le but principal du Fonds au Profit des Victimes est d’achever  ‘justice et réhabilitation’ pour les victimes les plus vulnérables des crimes internationaux et par ce faire de sauvegarder leur dignité et leurs espoirs”.
     
    Pendant son séjour, M. De Baan, accompagné par Aude Le Goff, coordinatrice régionale des programmes, a rencontré le Ministre de la Justice et de la moralisation, Monsieur Firmin Findiro et le Ministre de la Santé Publique, de la population et de la lutte contre le SIDA, Monsieur Jean-Michel Mandaba. La délégation  du FPV a aussi organisé des réunions en groupe avec les représentants de la société civile en RCA, y compris les associations des victimes, les représentants des organisations internationales et des ONG basées.
     
    Dans un premier temps et dans le cadre de son mandat de réhabilitation, l’action du Fonds au Profit des Victimes en RCA bénéficiera aux victimes des violences sexuelles qualifiables de crimes relevant de la compétence de la CPI et ce, sur tout le territoire du pays, ainsi qu’à leurs familles et communautés.  Cette priorité, nécessitée par les ressources limitées dont le Fonds dispose, résulte actuellement d’une étude des besoins et vulnérabilités des victimes effectuée par le Fonds en 2009. Il  n’est pas exclu que dans le futur et si les moyens le lui permettent, le Fonds sera en position d’engager avec les victimes d’autres crimes relevant de la compétence de la CPI.
     
    Dans l’exécution de son mandat de réhabilitation en RCA, le mode de travail principal du FPV sera le partenariat avec des organisations centrafricaines ainsi qu’avec les organisations internationales enregistrées en RCA. Elles sont vivement invitées à se concerter pour rendre des services holistiques de haute qualité et pertinents pour répondre aux besoins et attentes des victimes des violences sexuelles qualifiables de crimes internationaux.  L’enveloppe prévue pour ce premier programme du FPV en RCA est de 600,000 euros. Chacun des projets sélectionnés ne devrait pas dépasser un plafond de 150,000 euros.
     
    Les structures intéressées et présentant les compétences requises sont tout d’abord invitées á soumettre des idées de projet. Les organisations doivent être également dotées d’une bonne crédibilité auprès des groupes ciblés. Dans un second temps, les organisations ayant soumis une proposition d’idée présélectionnée par le secrétariat du FPV seront invitées à développer une proposition de projet, à l’issue d’un atelier qui sera organisé en Octobre 2011 à Bangui. La  procédure de sélection se fera de façon rigoureuse, transparente et équitable. Le Conseil de Direction du FPV validera la sélection du secrétariat du Fonds
     
     Le choix final  pourra uniquement être annoncé lorsque la Chambre compétente de la CPI se sera assurée que les projets proposés ne préjugent pas d’une question sur laquelle la Cour doit se prononcer ni ne portent atteinte aux droits de l’accusé et á l’équité et á l’impartialité du procès.
     
    Le commencement des projets en RCA est prévu pour début 2012.
    En ce qui concerne l’autre mandat du FPV, celui d’exécution des ordonnances de réparations prononcées par la Cour contre une personne condamnée,  n’est pas encore d’actualité. En effet les affaires devant la CPI sont toujours en cours, y compris celle de Monsieur Bemba.
     
    Pour plus d’information sur l’appel à manifestation d’intérêt : Kent Foster, Unité des achats, Kent.Foster@icc-cpi.int, Tel : +31 705158085.
     
    Pour plus d’information sur les programmes : Kristin Kalla, Fonctionnaire hors classe chargée des programmes, kristin.kalla@icc-cpi.int, Tel : +31 705159687.
     
    Pour de plus amples informations voir la page: www.trustfundforvictims.org
    Le communiqué de presse complet peut  être lu sur le site internet ici.
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