• Wednesday, December 14, 2011
• Inter Press Service

'The Gender Report Card on the International Criminal Court (ICC) is a major resource to bring together the most important pieces of information and developments on a12 months period', Brigid Inder, executive director of the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice, told IPS during the launch of the Report at the United Nations .

'This is the seventh Gender Report on the International Criminal Court and we can see over that period that the Court has become increasingly responsive to our advocacy for the investigation and prosecution of gender based crimes', Inder added.

The ICC is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression. The Gender Report 2011 analyses the institutional developments of the ICC throughout 2011, as well as the Court’s substantive work and jurisprudence.

'The ICC has been responsive to understanding that charges for sexual violence and other forms of gender based crimes need to be included in cases where there is evidence and the ICC needs to be attentive to the evidence and willing to prosecute', Inder told IPS.

According to the press release, since the publication of the previous Gender Report Card, the Office of the Prosecutor has opened two new investigations (Libya and Côte d’Ivoire). Currently the Court has cases arising out of seven situations under investigations: Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Darfur (Sudan), Kenya, Libya and Côte d’Ivoire.

'While gender-based crimes are regularly charged by the ICC, they continue to be the most vulnerable category of crimes addressed by the Court,' Inder told reporters. 'A high proportion of these charges are dismissed before the trial phase due to quirky judicial decisions, insufficient or incorrect characterisation of the facts regarding sexual violence. This area of the Court’s work continues to be challenging', she added.

'We are struggling about sustaining the charges for sexual violence and other forms of gender based crimes and we know that the staff of the ICC uses the Gender Report Card as a resource. We see that the report is having an impact and it becomes highly anticipated', Inder said.

The report shows that the statute of the ICC contains the most far-reaching and forward-looking provisions for prosecution of gender-based crimes of any international court. However, the Court’s record on prosecuting these crimes so far shows that there is still work to do.

The Gender Report Card 2011 also makes multiple recommendations for strengthening the work of the Court in assisting victims, and for enabling women victims/survivors of sexual and gender-based crimes to participate in proceedings.

The Gender Report on the International Criminal Court 2011 is available on the Women’s initiative for Gender Justice website, www.iccwomen.org

© Inter Press Service (2011) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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