France increases its contributions to the Trust Fund for Victims to support survivors of sexual and gender-based violence
The Trust Fund for Victims (TFV) at the International Criminal Court (ICC) welcomes the voluntary contribution from France of EUR 150,000 to support survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).
Welcoming this contribution, H.E Mr. Kevin Kelly, member of the TFV Board of Directors, stated, “The Trust Fund for Victims expresses its appreciation to the Government of France for the increased financial support this year and for its commitment to the TFV’s work with survivors of sexual violence, their families, and affected communities.”
H.E. Mr. François Alabrune, Ambassador of France to the Kingdom of the Netherlands said, "On the 25th year since the signing of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, France reiterates its unwavering support for this vital Court, and in particular for the Trust Fund for Victims. The fight against impunity is a question of justice for the victims of the most serious crimes, in particular victims of sexual or gender-based violence. This is why France has decided this year to triple its financial contribution to the ICC Trust Fund for Victims”.
The contribution from France will help recognise and respond to the harm suffered by survivors of sexual and gender-based violence through TFV programmes that provide medical treatment, individual trauma counselling and group therapy, education, and socio-economic support and address new masculinities to enhance familial and societal reconciliation. Such programmes are currently being implemented in the situations in Central African Republic (I and II), Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Georgia, Kenya, Mali and Uganda.
The TFV relies on financial contributions to implement its programmes and also welcomes contributions from States Parties’ development and cooperation funding, where possible.
Since 2004, the TFV has received over EUR 48 million from 52 States Parties and individuals. This year, the TFV has increased contributions from States Parties by at least 35% from 2022 from at least 23 States Parties. France has been supporting the TFV through voluntary contributions since 2005 with a total amount of over EUR 1,6 million. The contribution of France for 2023 is triple the amount of the contribution of 2022.
With the voluntary contributions it receives, the TFV is also implementing reparation programmes for victims of crimes against humanity and war crimes. In 2023, the International Criminal Court has concluded the first judicial cycle marked by the completion of the TFV reparation programme for victims in the Katanga case. The TFV continues implementing reparation programmes for victims in the cases of Lubanga and Ntaganda (Situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and in the Al Mahdi case (Situation in Mali), while conducting preliminary work in preparation for the reparations order in the Ongwen case (Situation in Uganda).
For more information about the Trust Fund for Victims, please contact: trustfundforvictims@icc-cpi.int or visit: www.trustfundforvictims.org