Interview with Rhonda Copelon on the Rome Statute and gender-based crimes, part 1 of 2
Title | Título:
Interview with Rhonda Copelon on the Rome Statute and gender-based crimes, part 1 of 2
Description | Descripción:
The Women's Caucus was formed in February 1997, to intervene in the ongoing Preparatory Committee meetings for the establishment of an International Criminal Court at the United Nations. Women realized that without an organized caucus, women's concerns would not be actively defended in the documents and process of creation of an International Criminal Court. The legal issues in the ICC are complex and sensitive. They require people from different legal systems and cultures to arrive at a consensus on specific issues that may challenge local traditions or beliefs. The gender-related issues are particularly sensitive, as they are not as well understood. Gender-related crimes are often perceived to be private or individual crimes that do not rise to the level of international human rights law, or that are perceived to be taken care of by a "neutral" statute. However, the experience of women has been that neutrality usually results in leaving out crimes against women and the ways that women, because of their socially constructed roles in society, are disproportionately affected. It was these concerns that the Women""s Caucus sought to address in the process of creation of an International Criminal Court. By advocating the codification of crimes of sexual, reproductive and gender violence, and inclusion of gender sensitive processes and criteria for personnel, the Caucus tried to ensure that the Court has capacity to implement justice for women. | The video beings with the crew making adjustments to the camera. Interview with Rhonda Copelon, Director of International Women's Human Rights Clinic, City University of New York Law School. There are audio problems throughout. Copelon explains that naming the crimes of sexual and reproductive violence in the ICC Statute is important because it recognizes the treatment of comfort women. The ICC list is broad and eliminates ambiguity around whether sexual and reproductive violence are grave enough to be prosecuted as war crimes or crimes against humanity. She states that the list leaves no doubt that sexual crimes are crimes of violence, rather than only crimes against honor or dignity. The statute also integrates sexual and reproductive crimes as forms of traditionally recognized crimes like torture, genocide, and enslavement. This keeps these crimes from being thought of as "women's" issues, and subsequently seen as less important. Following is a second take of Copelon answering the same question. The interview then continues with Copelon discussing the Rome Statute's recognition of gender as a basis of persecution. This allows crimes such as gender apartheid in Afghanistan to fall under the Rome Statute. She also discusses how the Women's Caucus has worked to ensure that the ICC avoids errors of the past in regards to respect for victims. There are variety of provisions, such as providing support and protection for victims. Copelon then does another take of the same statement. Copelon states that an underlying principle that the Women's Caucus advocated for was that women and men should be fairly represented among the ICC's judges and prosecutors, and that there should be judges and prosecutors with gender expertise. Copelon states that another important and innovative aspect of the Rome Statute is the recognition that victims have the right to participate in the proceedings. The Statute also includes a broad recognition of the right of reparation, as well as guarantees about the admissibility of testimony and evidence in sexual violence cases. Copelon talks about the limitations of the ICC. It has no retroactive jurisdiction. It will be difficult to maintain the court's independence. Women's groups will also need to pressure the Court to make sure crimes against women are included. She notes that the creation of the ICC is not simply the creation of a court; it is the establishment of codes, processes, and principles that can serve as a norm for justice everywhere. Copelon also states that people with gender sensitivity need to be nominated to serve on the court and that gender training should be given to teach sensitivity. After some more discussion, she repeats the first portion of the interview, including the significance of listing the crimes. She also asserts the importance of viewing rape as a form of torture. There are then further takes of Copelon's discussion of the court's limitations.
Contributor | Contribuidor:
WITNESS (Creator) and "Women's Caucus for Gender Justice" (Creator)
unedited footage, metraje sin editar, moving image, interviews, and entrevistas
Extent | Alcance:
14 minutes, 03 seconds
Rights - Use & Reproduction | Derechos - uso & reproducción:
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Language | Idioma:
English
Place of publication | Lugar de publicación:
Brooklyn (N.Y.)
Topic | Tema:
Civil and political rights--Women's rights, Mujeres--Derechos--Derechos políticos y civiles, Laws, justice, and judicial proceedings--Laws and legislation, Leyes, justicia y procedimientos judiciales--Leyes y legislación, Armed conflict and persecution--War crimes, Conflicto armado y persecución--Crímenes de guerra, Armed conflict and persecution--Sexual violence, Conflicto armado y persecución--Violencia sexual, Armed conflict and persecution--Crimes against humanity, and Conflicto armado y persecución--Crímenes contra la humanidad
General Note | Notas generales:
A/D flag: physDigital; Generation: original; Signal format: NTSC; Carrier number 1 of 1.
UTL DAMS PID:
hrdi:1feab940-b57c-4d40-9d3e-ee3163911db1
Local Identifier| Identificador local :
B01551-0_00_00_28 and witness_ihwe_3210
Related Resource – Host | Recursos relacionados:
Women's Caucus for Gender Justice's Footage for "If Hope Were Enough" Documentary (title) and https://txarchives.org/hrdi/finding_aids/00005.xml (uri)