4th Preparatory Commission of the International Criminal Court (ICC Prepcom) panel, part 2 of 2
Title | Título:
4th Preparatory Commission of the International Criminal Court (ICC Prepcom) panel, part 2 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. | This is the second part of the footage from a panel on the issue of crimes against humanity and witness protection issues hosted by the Women's Caucus for Gender Justice during the March 2000 4th Preparatory Commission Meeting for the International Criminal Court (ICC) at UN Headquarters in New York. The panel addressed development in the crimes against humanity negotiations, the need for appropriate provisions in the rules of procedure and evidence, and issues of concern to women victims and witnesses of sexual violence. It begins with the continuation of the presentation by Francoise Ngendahayo, the Advisor on Gender Issues and Assistance to Victims at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. She addresses the lack of sensitivity toward the culture of women victims of the Rwanda genocide. She discusses her experience during an earlier visit to Rwanda where she saw how women's trauma were dismissed. She explains that there must be a balance so that justice does not turn into revenge. She concludes that a lack of victim participation in the courts has led to problems and that the ICC must work to avoid such issues in the future. Next the floor is opened for questions. A man poses a question to Madeleine Rees regarding her speech on the Secretary General [which is not on this tape]; Rees suggests that the NGOs approach the Secretary General and High Commissioner to get advice in writing on meeting the established standards. Next a woman working in the Office of the Prosecutor for the Rwanda Tribunal speaks about the historical exclusion of gender issues in courts. A woman responds that the achievement of listing rape explicitly is important, but raises the concern that the separation of rape from other forms of torture may lead to courts not giving the crime the gravitas it deserves. Rees states that she worries that the treatment of women in tribunals will be seen as negligible. Another woman from Rwanda makes comments in French. Ngendahayo translates: if women's trauma is not treated, they will never be able to participate. Teresa Ulloa thanks the audience for their participation. The next portion of the footage is an interview with Madeleine Rees, a representative from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, inside a conference room. She describes the significance of the ICC, stating that it is the first attempt of such an undertaking. She notes that this is an opportunity for women to push for changes in domestic legislation; many countries do not have accurate or adequate criminal codes. Following is an interview with Gabriela Mischkowski outdoors. She speaks about how the ICC will influence Germany, mentioning that it may help refugees or migrants. She then describes how the German Parliament has begun the ratification process, which she believes will be passed successfully. She does note that despite the government's support of the ICC, the public appears to be unaware of it. She concludes that while the ICC has the ability to give women's voices a chance to be heard, there is a danger that women will not want to testify. The video ends with exterior shots of the UN building from various angles.
Contributor | Contribuidor:
WITNESS (Creator) and Women's Caucus for Gender Justice (Creator)
unedited footage, metraje sin editar, moving image, panels (meetings), and paneles (reuniones)
Extent | Alcance:
57 minutes
Rights - Use & Reproduction | Derechos - uso & reproducción:
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Language | Idioma:
English and French
Place of publication | Lugar de publicación:
Brooklyn (N.Y.)
Topic | Tema:
Civil and political rights--Women's rights, Mujeres--Derechos--Derechos políticos y civiles, Advocacy, activism, and responses to persecution--Activists, Defensa, activismo y respuestas a la persecución--Activistas, 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, Laws, justice, and judicial proceedings--Judicial systems, and Leyes, justicia y procedimientos judiciales--Sistemas judiciales
Place Name | Nombre del lugar:
Africa--Rwanda, África--Ruanda, Europe--Bosnia and Herzegovina, Europa--Bosnia y Herzegovina, Europe--Serbia and Montenegro, and Europa--Serbia y Montenegro
General Note | Notas generales:
A/D flag: physDigital; Generation: original; Signal format: NTSC; Carrier number 1 of 1
UTL DAMS PID:
hrdi:5b28e169-6ed1-42f7-b9db-8acd70a8de06
Local Identifier| Identificador local :
B01431-0_00_00_08 and witness_ihwe_3102
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)