The ICC Outreach Programme in Kenya joins women in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County to mark International Women’s Day

On Thursday, 8 March 2012, the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) Outreach Programme in Kenya organised an Outreach session with over 80 women to mark International Women’s Day, which is celebrated annually in different parts of the world. The participants represented various national and local women’s organisations from Uasai Gishu County and nearby villages.

During the session, in addition to providing an overview of the Court, the Outreach staff explained that the Rome Statute is the first international treaty to recognise a range of sexual and gender-related crimes among the most serious crimes under international law. The crimes discussed included rape, sexual slavery, forced marriage, forced pregnancy, forcible prostitution and gender-based persecution.

During the session, participants discussed the current judicial phase in the two Kenya cases, related to the 2008 post-election violence, and emphasised the need for thethe ICC to continue investigating rape and gender-related alleged crimes

In her closing remarks, a member of FIDA-Kenya, the Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya, thanked the ICC Outreach Programme for providing them with valuable information that helped to address and clarify issues about the work of the Court. She urged the Outreach Programme to expand its reach to other groups in the community “who have not had access to such beneficial information”.

The ICC’s Outreach Programme is mandated to interact with and provide information to communities affected by crimes brought before the Court and it aims to cultivate awareness and understanding of judicial proceedings within these communities. This, in turn, engenders greater local community participation and dialogue, and allows the Court to hear and address the communities' concerns and counter misperceptions.

For further information, please contact Maria Kamara, Field Outreach Coordinator, International Criminal Court, by telephone at: +254 70 211 6112 or by e-mail at: [email protected].

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