Elisabeth Rehn elected Chairperson for the Board of Directors at the Trust Fund for Victims, International Criminal Court

Elisabeth Rehn elected Chairperson for the Board of Directors at the Trust Fund for Victims, International Criminal Court

ICC-CPI-20100325-PR509

On Tuesday, March 23, 2010 the newly elected Board of Directors of the Trust Fund for Victims (TFV) unanimously nominated Ms Elisabeth Rehn as the Chairperson of the Board of Directors. A former Presidential candidate in Finland, member of the Finnish and European Parliaments, and former Minister of Defence in Finland, Ms Rehn brings special expertise to her new leadership role with her experience as the former UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human rights in The Republic of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and as the UN Under-Secretary-General, Special Representative of Secretary-General in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Ms Rehn stated that she was “very honored to be elected by her distinguished colleagues; and that she looks forward to leading the Board of Directors of the Trust Fund for Victims based on her experience working in conflict and post-conflict situations.”

The TFV is helping an estimated 42,300 direct beneficiaries (victims) and 182,000 indirect beneficiaries (victims and their families) of crimes under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court in two of these situations (namely northern Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo with the Central African Republic in 2010/11). The TFV fulfils two mandates: (1) administering reparations ordered by the Court against a convicted person¹, and (2) To use other resources for the benefit of victims subject to the provisions of article 79 of the Rome Statute². Both mandates provide support to victims of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed since 1 July, 2002³. It works with survivors and their communities as fully-fledged partners in designing sustainable, effective, and locally-relevant interventions to help victims rebuild lives and rejoin their families and communities.

Ms Rehn stated that, “the Trust Fund for Victims also considers its assistance to victims of sexual and other forms of gender-based violence (SGBV) a key step toward ending impunity for human rights abusers, establishing durable peace and reconciliation in conflict settings, and for successfully implementing United Nations Security Council resolutions 1325, 1820, and 1889.”

Ms Rehn has been active in the creation of the SRC 1325 from its birth in Windhoek 2000. She co-authored the report ‘Women War Peace’, an assessment of the situation of women and girls in wars and conflict. The empowerment of women and their presence at negotiation tables is especially important to her. She feels that “women’s and girls’ empowerment are key steps in achieving the TFV’s mission of addressing the harm resulting from crimes under the jurisdiction of the ICC.”

The TFV considers both mainstreaming a gender-based perspective across all programming (including reparations), and specifically targeting crimes of sexual violence, as key steps to achieving its mission of addressing the harm resulting from crimes under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.

Currently, the TFV is addressing two of the three crimes under ICC’s jurisdiction – crimes against humanity and war crimes – committed since 1 July, 2002. The TFV supports 34 projects in northern Uganda and the DRC that reach thousands of victims and their families. For example, the TFV supports:

• Medical treatment for victims with disfiguring injuries to reduce the stigma they face and to facilitate their reintegration;
• Rehabilitation and reintegration of child soldiers, including girl combatants and abductees through family reunification, foster placement, and vocational training;
• Improving access to reproductive health services, counseling, and psychosocial support for survivors of rape;
• Opportunities to improve household livelihoods through agricultural and micro-credit initiatives.

For more information please visit the Trust Fund for Victims website at: http://www.trustfundforvictims.org/

1. Rule 98 (2), (3), (4) of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence

2. Rule 98 (5) of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence. For more information on the TFV’s legal basis, please see http://trustfundforvictims.org/legal-basis.

3. As defined in Articles 6, 7 and 8 of the Rome Statute.