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:
In relation to its first role, the Court may order money and other property collected through fines or forfeiture from a convicted person to be transferred to the TFV for the implementation of reparations awards. However, the TFV has also been established to complement such resources through voluntary contributions from donors. The Board of Directors may determine the extent to which the TFV will complement court-ordered reparations, in accordance with Regulation 56 of the Regulations of the TFV.
The TFV general assistance is supported by voluntary contributions solely. It is implemented before the conclusion of the trial, and is not limited to the victims participating in proceedings before the Court. It can be implemented once the Board has notified the Court of the necessity to provide assistance to victims, and where this does not affect the fairness of the trial, as stipulated in Regulation 50 of the Regulations of the TFV.
This mandate serves as a very immediate response to the urgent needs of victims and their communities who have suffered from the worst crimes in international law. Through its extensive work in the countries where cases are being prosecuted, the TFV has created an operational presence on the ground for later Court-ordered reparations. This can serve to inform the Court of victims’ needs and the operational realities in the relevant countries; as well as provide a mechanism to deliver assistance to victims recognised as deserving of reparations. TFV is learning valuable lessons about the unique role that a legal institution can play in addressing the needs of victims of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Through regular monitoring and evaluation and targeted research, the TFV is documenting and sharing these lessons to inform its work.
The Rome Statute establishes a unique system of international criminal justice whereby victims have been granted new rights before the Court. Unlike previous ad-hoc tribunals, such as the ICTY or the ICTR, the ICC grants victims the right to participate in proceedings and to claim reparations.
Article 75 (1) states that:
“The Court shall establish principles relating to reparations to, or in respect of, victims, including restitution, compensation and rehabilitation.”
This broad mandate allows the Court to identify and award the most appropriate forms of reparation in light of the context of the situation, and needs of the victims and their communities.
The Court, on application by the victims or on its own motion, may award both individual and collective awards of reparations and may order these to be implemented through the TFV as outlined in Rule 98 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence.
The Court can order that an award for reparations against a convicted defendant be made through the Trust Fund for Victims. With its non-Court ordered general assistance, the TFV has an established presence on the ground and is very well placed to implement such awards.
This second role of the TFV is specified in Rule 98(5) of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, where “other resources of the Trust Fund may be used for the benefits of victims.”
The second mandate is implemented in accordance with Regulation 48, to benefit “victims of crimes as defined in rule 85 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, and, where, natural persons are concerned, their families, who have suffered physical, psychological and/or material harm as a result of these crimes.”
The challenge of rebuilding and healing societies after conflict is as complex and difficult as the task of putting an end to the underlying causes of fighting. If this does not happen, local conflicts will resume, again and again, threatening to destabilise larger regions, undermining development and devaluing hope for the future.
Solutions cannot be imported; peace has to be built by the people themselves. Countries emerging from long-term violent conflict are troubled societies that may develop destructive social and political patterns. In such cases, fundamental psychological adjustments in individual and group identity—aided by reconstruction processes—are essential to reconciliation. If we do not get it right through justice, reparations and rehabilitation initiatives, we will not be able to secure peace, security and development for future generations.
This is where the Trust Fund for Victims (TFV) places support. Currently, all 34 of the TFV’s approved projects fall under this mandate. These combine a range of strategies that fall under one or more of our three approaches to general assistance:
| Physical Rehabilitation | Psychological Rehabilitation | Material Support |
|---|---|---|
| To provide care and rehabilitation to victims who have suffered physical injury, in order to recover and resume their roles as productive and contributing members of their societies |
To give cost-effective psychological, social and other health benefits to assist in recovery and address stigma and discrimination among families and communities | To improve the economic status of victims through education, economic development, rebuilding of community infrastructure, and creation of employment opportunities |
These can take a variety of forms. For example, the TFV supports or has supported:
The TFV considers its assistance to victims of sexual and/or gender-based violence (SGBV) a key step toward ending impunity for perpetrators, establishing durable peace and reconciliation in conflict settings, and successfully implementing United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1325, 1820, 1880 and 1889. To do so, the TFV has adopted two strategies:
Both are key steps in achieving the TFV’s mission of addressing the harm resulting from crimes under the jurisdiction of the ICC. The TFV informs its approach to gender mainstreaming using the Inter-Agency Standing Committee’s Gender Handbook in Humanitarian Action (IASC’s Gender Handbook) and the World Health Organisation’s Ethical Standards and Procedures for Research with Human Beings. In doing so, the TFV takes care to promote women and girls’ empowerment and address the specific needs of victims in different age groups – a fundamental requirement of any peace-building process.
The TFV also supports the Nairobi Declaration on the Right of Women and Girls to a Remedy and Reparation to inform its programming. This Declaration, agreed upon in 2007 by human rights advocates and truth commission participants, develops principles on reparation for women and girls in relation to sexual violence. It expands on the UN Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law, and puts all focus on the specificity of women. It adds key concepts to the principle of reparation, which the TFV utilizes as core elements of its programming strategy: victims’ reinsertion into society, access to information, participation, consultation, and more.