4th Preparatory Commission of the International Criminal Court (ICC Prepcom) panel, part 1 of 2
Title | Título:
4th Preparatory Commission of the International Criminal Court (ICC Prepcom) panel, 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. | This is the first part of 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 discussed developments 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. Teresa Ulloa, a lawyer from Mexico who has worked on victim access and participation issues in the domestic court system, introduces the commission and welcomes people to the meeting. [Descriptions of presentations below are adapted from summary on WCGJ website] Madeleine Rees, of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, addresses the issue of the increased threshold for crimes against humanity in light of the non-derogation principle for jus cogens crimes. Jus cogens connotes a category of crimes for which there is no acceptable defense or excuse for their commission, meaning they are non-derogable. Examples of jus cogens crimes are slavery, torture and genocide. Rees analyzed the development in the ICC negotiations within the context of international human rights law and humanitarian law and found such language to be highly questionable and problematic in relationship to accepted norms. Gabriela Mischkowski, a co-founder of Medica Mondiale, a crisis center founded in 1992 to assist the survivors of sexual violence and atrocities occurring in the Former Yugoslavia, discusses the negative impact participating in the criminal justice process can have on victims of sexual violence. This can take the form of re-traumatization and cultural and personal humiliation. For any justice process to be effective, it must rely on survivors and witnesses. According to Mischkowski, the process of justice itself must be more sensitive to and empowering of survivors and witnesses, especially survivors of sexual violence. In addition to contributing to a more profound sense of justice and faith in the justice process, a more gender sensitive and integrated approach would also have the effect of encouraging victims to come forward and participate in the justice process. Francoise Ngendahayo, the Advisor on Gender Issues and Assistance to Victims at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, also addresses the needs of victims and witnesses in the justice process. She echoes many of the points made by Mischkowski and compared the similarities to the Rwanda experience. She also points out some of the differences to illustrate the need for flexibility within such tribunals to accommodate the needs and concerns of survivors in different cultural settings. Ngendahayo also stresses the need for counseling of survivors and assistance while recalling events that can reproduce the effects of trauma.
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:
39 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, Economic, social, and cultural rights--Health and healthcare--Post-traumatic stress disorder, and Derechos económicos, sociales y culturales--Salud y cuidado de la salud--Trastorno de estrés postraumático
Place Name | Nombre del lugar:
Africa--Rwanda, África--Ruanda, Europe--Germany, and Europa--Alemania
General Note | Notas generales:
A/D flag: physDigital; Generation: original; Signal format: NTSC; Carrier number 1 of 1
UTL DAMS PID:
hrdi:5f77fd98-6e34-41b9-bd21-816474fee78c
Local Identifier| Identificador local :
B01429-0_00_00_08 and witness_ihwe_3101
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)