Det har været en mangelvare og tusinder har aldrig modtaget erstatning for de ofte uhyrlige overgreb, de har været udsat for – samtidig venter flere prekære retssager mod afrikanske krigsforbrydere.
LONDON, 30 July 2012 (IRIN): That a war crimes court should focus on the victims of war crimes sounds like a simple concept.
But many of those living in the African communities where most of the atrocities (grusomheder) being prosecuted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) took place, have long complained they have been forgotten by this controversial and costly institution based thousands of miles away.
The new ICC prosecutor (anklager) has pledged that victims – particularly women and children – will be her priority, but analysts worry that shrin-king budgets could make her promises difficult to keep – mere om dom-stolen i Haag på http://www.unric.org/da/information-om-fn/25951?start=5
Fatou Bensouda said at her swearing-in speech in June that she would “focus on, and listen to, the millions of victims who continue to suffer from massive crimes…”
“The return on our investment for what others may today consider to be a huge cost for justice is effective deterrence and saving millions of victims’ lives,” said Bensouda as she took over the ICC’s highest profile job from Luis Moreno-Ocampo.
Gambia’s former justice minister and attorney-general served more than eight years as Ocampo’s deputy.
Sunil Pal, head of the legal section at the Coalition for the ICC, an advocacy organization comprising 2.500 civil society groups in 150 countries, expects Bensouda to bring her own unique approach to the role of prosecutor. He welcomes her diplomatic style and focus on victims.
“The tone is very positive [with Bensouda],” he said, adding:
“There is a real emphasis on working with victims and ensuring that the process is meaningful for the direct beneficiaries of this process – the victims. It is about recognizing the importance that victims play in this process and an acknowledgement and strengthening of that role.”
Victim-friendly – on paper
On paper at least the ICC is the most victim-friendly of all the international tribunals.
Court-recognized victims are given lawyers and allowed to participate throughout a trial, including by questioning witnesses. Those who have suffered injury or harm from a crime for which someone is convicted are also eligible (kvalificeret) for restitution (erstatning), compensation or rehabilitation.
The reparations (erstatnings) process is now under way in the Thomas Lubanga case, the only trial completed during Ocampo’s nine-year reign, but awards are many months away. Lubanga was a Congolese militia leader convicted of recruiting children.
It is up to the court’s registry and judges rather than the prosecutor to explain the reparations procedure to victims.
But analysts say it is Bensouda who should take responsibility for improving communications with victims who have often complained about the lack of information coming from the Hague-based court about the trials.
“There has been a general insufficiency of information being passed to victims which leads to certain perceptions of how the court works which may be false,” said Carla Ferstman, director of Redress, a human rights group working with war crimes victims.
“It is not only about bad practices of the prosecutor, it is about practices that are misunderstood”, noted she.
“Bensouda does have a role in reaching out and bringing victims in. She should see them as her stakeholders. These are constituents she should be working with and getting on board”, she noted.
Eleven African arrests remain outstanding
The ICC’s focus on African cases has been controversial and has led to charges of bias from the court’s vocal critics on the continent where cooperation has been patchy at best. Eleven ICC arrest warrants for African accused remain outstanding.
Sunil Pal believes that by placing an emphasis on the importance of victims, Bensouda will bring greater relevance to the work of the ICC in the places it is investigating.
“Communications is a priority, ensuring the process is relevant and meaningful for victims and communicating, educating and informing victims around its decision-making process, particularly in the case of preliminary examinations,” he said.
“This is about creating environments that are conducive (bidrager) to facilitating the court’s work in-country, which will help them get buy-in and counteract accusations of bias.”
Reduced budget
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