ICC Leaders on Peace and Gender Justice at Human Rights Conference in Turkey
Today, 23 May 2013, the President of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Judge Sang-Hyun Song, and the Court’s Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, addressed an international human rights conference opened by Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay in Istanbul (Turkey).
President Song’s remarks, part of the 38th Congress of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), stressed the ICC’s role in helping end violence against women during conflict.
“Whether attendant to war or a weapon of war; whether blindly permitted or systematically enforced – sexual violence leaves invisible scars on its victims which are as painful and lasting as the visible. The horrors of conflict inflicted upon women are not incidental; they are not inevitable; and they can no longer be ignored”, he said.
The President encouraged more countries from the Islamic World to join the Court. “The embrace of the ICC by Bangladesh, Jordan, Mali, Tunisia and others demonstrates that justice is a universally held value, and that the ICC is recognised as a truly independent institution”, he stated.
Recognising the invaluable role of the civil society, President Song thanked the FIDH for its longstanding advocacy for justice and human rights. “It is testament to the strength of this federation that I can also stand in this room today”, he said.
Also speaking today, ICC Prosecutor Bensouda stressed the role of the ICC in ensuring that perpetrators of serious atrocities are held to account, so that anyone who uses violence, rapes and killings to gain power, or stay in power, may be investigated and prosecuted.
“[The ICC is] being called upon, again and again, to fulfil the promise made to victims in Rome, that there should be an end to impunity and that future crimes should be prevented”, she said.
Prosecutor Bensouda said that judicial institutions promote stability and reconciliation in nations dealing with the aftermath of conflict.
“Justice is necessary to achieve regional and international peace; an intrinsic part of the efforts deployed by the international community to address situations of massive crimes and a key component of any meaningful transition from conflict to lasting peace”, she said.
Yesterday, 22 May 2013, President Song encouraged Turkey to join the Court in an address at Istanbul’s Bilgi University.
“Turkey’s accession would be a powerful statement of solidarity with the victims of the gravest crimes and its commitment to international law and the protection of fundamental human rights and dignity”, President Song said.
The President and Prosecutor also attended today an event to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court.
The International Criminal Court is the world’s first permanent, independent institution tasked with the prosecution of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes when justice is not attainable in the national setting. Backed by an assembly of 122 countries, the ICC is currently undertaking eight investigations and eight preliminary examinations across five continents.
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