Coalitionfortheicc.org: International Women’s Day / #TimeisNow for gender equality and justice through ICC Rome Statute

Weekly #GlobalJustice news and civil society views
International Women’s Day / #TimeisNow for gender equality and justice through ICC Rome Statute

In this year of celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Rome Statute, International Women’s Day reminds us of the great strides that were made in strengthening women’s rights when the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court was adopted. 

"International Women’s Day is an occasion to celebrate accomplishments and advancements for women’s rights, but it is also a time to recognize that much work remains to be done, especially regarding sexual and gender-based violence during conflict,” said Jelena Pia Comella, deputy executive director, Coalition for the ICC.

    Cases
        Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain
        Abdel Raheem Muhammad Hussein
        Abdullah al-Senussi
        Ahmad Harun and Ali Kushayb
        Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi
        Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi
        Al-Tuhamy Mohamed Khaled
        Bahar Idriss Abu Garda
        Bosco Ntaganda
        Callixte Mbarushimana
        Dominic Ongwen
        Germain Katanga
        Jean-Pierre Bemba (Bemba I)
        Jean-Pierre Bemba (Bemba II)
        Joseph Kony et. al.
        Laurent Gbagbo and Charles Blé Goudé
        Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui
        Omar al-Bashir
        Saif al-Islam Gadaffi
        Sylvestre Mudacumura
        Thomas Lubanga Dyilo
        Uhuru Kenyatta
        William Ruto and Joshua Sang
        Mahmoud Mustafa Busayf Al-Werfalli
    Countries
        Africa
            Angola
            Benin
            Botswana
            Burkina Faso
            Burundi
            Cameroon
            Cape Verde
            Central African Republic (I and II)
            Chad
            Comoros
            Congo Brazzaville
            Côte d'Ivoire
            Darfur, Sudan
            Democratic Republic of Congo
            Djibouti
            Equatorial Guinea
            Eritrea
            Ethiopia
            Gabon
            Gambia
            Ghana
            Guinea
            Guinea-Bissau
            Kenya
            Lesotho
            Liberia
            Madagascar
            Malawi
            Mali
            Mauritania
            Mauritius
            Mozambique
            Namibia
            Niger
            Nigeria
            Rwanda
            Sao Tome and Principe
            Senegal
            Seychelles
            Sierra Leone
            Somalia
            South Africa
            South Sudan
            Swaziland
            Tanzania
            Togo
            Uganda
            Zambia
            Zimbabwe
        Americas
            Antigua and Barbuda
            Argentina
            Barbados
            Belize
            Bolivia
            Brazil
            Canada
            Chile
            Colombia
            Costa Rica
            Cuba
            Dominica
            Dominican Republic
            Ecuador
            El Salvador
            Grenada
            Guatemala
            Guyana
            Haiti
            Honduras
            Jamaica
            Mexico
            Nicaragua
            Panama
            Paraguay
            Peru
            Saint Kitts and Nevis
            St. Lucia
            St. Vincent and the Grenadines
            Suriname
            The Bahamas
            Trinidad and Tobago
            United States
            Uruguay
            Venezuela
        Asia-Pacific
            Afghanistan
            Australia
            Bangladesh
            Bhutan
            Brunei
            Cambodia
            China
            Fiji
            India
            Indonesia
            Japan
            Kiribati
            Laos People's Democratic Republic
            Malaysia
            Micronesia
            Mongolia
            MyanmarNon-State Party
            Nepal
            New Zealand
            North Korea
            Pakistan
            Palau
            Republic of Korea
            Republic of Maldives
            Samoa
            Singapore
            Solomon Islands
            Sri Lanka
            Thailand
            The Philippines
            Timor-Leste
            Tonga
            Turkmenistan
            Tuvalu
            Vanuatu
            Vietnam
        Europe
            Albania
            Andorra
            Armenia
            Austria
            Azerbaijan
            Belarus
            Belgium
            Bosnia and Herzegovina
            Bulgaria
            Croatia
            Cyprus
            Czech Republic
            Denmark
            Estonia
            Finland
            France
            Georgia
            Germany
            Greece
            Hungary
            Iceland
            Ireland
            Italy
            Kazakhstan
            Kyrgyzstan
            Latvia
            Liechtenstein
            Lithuania
            Luxembourg
            Macedonia
            Malta
            Moldova
            Monaco
            Montenegro
            Norway
            Poland
            Portugal
            Romania
            Russia
            San Marino
            Serbia
            Slovakia
            Slovenia
            Spain
            Sweden
            Switzerland
            Tajikistan
            The Holy See / Vatican City
            The Netherlands
            Turkey
            Ukraine
            United Kingdom
            Uzbekistan
        MENA
            Algeria
            Bahrain
            Egypt
            Iran
            Iraq
            Israel
            Jordan
            Kuwait
            Lebanon
            Libya
            Morocco
            Oman
            Palestine
            Qatar
            Saudi Arabia
            Syria
            Tunisia
            United Arab Emirates
            Yemen

International Women's Day / #TimeisNow for gender equality and justice through ICC Rome Statute

    Twitter
    Twitter
    Twitter
    Mail

Delia Chatoor, Former Legal Advisor, MFA Trinidad & Tobago to the 1998 Rome Conference. Pictured at the Coalition for the ICC Rome Statute 20 Launch Forum, The Hague, 16 Feb 2018. © CICC/Filippo Maria Ciriani
08 March 2018
Editors
Topics
International Women's Day
Rome Statute at 20
Sexual and gender based crimes
Gender justice
In this year of celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Rome Statute, International Women’s Day reminds us of the great strides that were made in strengthening women’s rights when the Rome Statute was adopted. 

As one of the first international treaties to extensively address crimes against women as crimes against humanity, war crimes and, in some cases, genocide, the Rome Statute created a permanent legal framework that gives victims and survivors of sexual and gender-based crimes continued reason to hope.

“International Women’s Day is an occasion to celebrate accomplishments and advancements for women’s rights, but it is also a time to recognize that much work remains to be done, especially regarding sexual and gender-based violence during conflict,” said Jelena Pia Comella, deputy executive director of the Coalition for the ICC. “The Rome Statute, with its special gender-related provisions, is an important tool for holding perpetrators of such crimes accountable. By ratifying and implementing the Statute—criminalizing sexual and gender-based violence—states can move closer to ending the commission of sexual and gender-based crimes during conflicts. We call upon all states to do so as quickly as possible.”

The Statute also created a standard for international justice when it comes to protection for victims and witnesses (especially victims of sexual and gender-based crimes), gender balance on its judicial bench and among its elected officials, and other provisions such as requiring that relevant Court organs have staff with expertise in gender issues.

"Today is a day to honor those victims of sexual and gender-based violence who have come forward to speak out," said Melinda Reed, Executive Director, Womens’ Initiatives for Gender Justice, "Today is a day to stand up for those who were unable to speak out.  Today is a day to hold the international community and ourselves accountable to end sexual and gender-based violence during conflicts.  The time is now. "

Moreover, the Rome Statute’s catalytic effect at the national level means that if a state ratifies the Statute and incorporates, for example, its far-reaching SGBV provisions into domestic legislation, these crimes can be prosecuted by national courts. There is real potential here for such a shift in domestic legal culture to promote gender equality more broadly by strengthening women’s rights and increasing their access to justice.

Accountability for sexual violence in the Rome Statute 

Meet the female activists breaking the mold

RemEMbering Oby Nwankwo: a pioneer of African, global and gender justice



The advances created by the Rome Statute on women’s rights and gender justice can be seen in developments at the Court this week.

Today, Thursday 8 March, three groundbreaking ICC Appeals Chamber judgments will be handed down. Two of those, judgements on reparations in the Al-Madhi case (Mali) and in the Katanga case (DRC), will cement the Court’s jurisprudence on reparations, and by that its effect on women victimized by ICC crimes. The reading out of the judgements can be followed live on the Court’s home page.

Tomorrow, Friday 9 March, six new judges of the ICC will be sworn in. Five of these Judges are women.

“On this International Women’s Day, I wish to send my warmest wishes to all women across the globe, especially those working or related to the world of justice. I want to call on all women to firmly believe in the equality of men and women - as I strongly do -, indeed, on gender equality, which is, after all, equality in rights and opportunities. I want to call on all women to never tolerate neither violence nor discrimination against us, and to never stop dreaming nor working towards reaching your goals…WE CAN DO IT,” said Luz Del Carmen Ibáñez, ICC judge-elect.

The Coalition’s campaign on the judicial elections in 2017 insisted on an increased presence of women judges at the ICC.

“This year, the celebration of International Women’s Day has particular resonance in the international justice context, coming as does the day before five female judges will be sworn in at the ICC. Leading up to this occasion, the Coalition had conducted an extensive campaign calling on states to nominate qualified female candidates, in particular, to ensure  fair gender representation on the ICC bench,” Kirsten Meersschaert, director of programs, Coalition for the ICC. “Having balanced gender representation on the ICC bench is not only conducive, but essential to ensuring more representative justice.”

Watch the videos of the Coalition’s Panel Discussion

Read the responses of the new ICC judges to the Coalition’s questionnaires

Why gender balance matters on the judicial bench

Inspiration to advance the rights of women


Tell us what you think in the comment section below.
Related

    News
    #GlobalJustice Weekly / New ICC judges sworn in | Calls for Myanmar ICC referral | International Women's Day
    09 March 2018
    International Women's DayJudicial electionsGender justice#GlobalJustice Weekly
    News
    Setting the mark for Rome Statute 20 / Argentina first to conclude full range of framework cooperation agreements with ICC
    08 March 2018
    Rome Statute at 20CooperationAgreements
    News
    International Women's Day / #TimeisNow for gender equality and justice through ICC Rome Statute
    08 March 2018
    International Women's DayRome Statute at 20Sexual and gender based crimesGender justice
    News
    Rome Statute 20 / ICC Trust Fund and states visit victim projects in Uganda
    01 March 2018
    Rome Statute at 20Trust Fund for VictimsOutreach
    Uganda
    News
    Gender crimes at the margins, including crimes against LGBTIQ persons in prosecutions under the Rome Statute
    12 February 2018
    LGBTIQ crimesGender justice
    News
    African civil society launches Network on International Criminal Justice
    06 February 2018
    Rome Statute at 20Campaign for Global Justice
    Africa
    Côte d'IvoireNigeria

Get weekly global justice news and civil society views
Language *
English
Español
Français
CONTACT US
NEW YORK
708 3rd Avenue, Suite. 1715
New York, NY 10017, USA
Phone: 1-212-687-2863
Fax : 1-212-599-1332
Email : cicc@coalitionfortheicc.org

THE HAGUE
Bezuidenhoutseweg 99a
2594 AC The Hague
The Netherlands
Phone : +31-70-3111080
Fax: +31 70 364-0259
E-mail: cicc-hague@coalitionfortheicc.org



REGIONAL OFFICES
Benin, Belgium, Peru, Thaïland

© Coalition for the International Criminal Court. Some rights reserved.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

MEDIA

Media contact
Media statements

LIBRARY
Library
Global Justice Monitor
Annual Report

RESOURCES
Website Glossary
Action pack – Campaign for GlobalJustice
Coalition member websites
Other websites of interest
Why states should join the ICC
Studying international criminal law
All resources


REGIONS

Africa
Americas
Asia-Pacific
Europe
Middle East – North Africa

    Twitter
    Facebook
    Linkedin
    Youtube
    Instagram
    Flickr

TAKE ACTION
DONATE NOW

GET INVOLVED

What we do
Our story
Our expenditure
Voices of global civil society
Testimonials



Contact

    Twitter
    Facebook
    Linkedin
    Youtube
    Instagram
    Flickr

    EN ES FR

Search form
Search

    The fightfor global justice
        Global justice
        A strong ICC
        State support
        Voices of civil society
        Rome Statute at 20 - Join us
        Coalition campaigns
        Coalition membership
        ICC elections 2017
    AboutThe coalition
        Who we are
        What we do
        Our story
        Testimonials
        Internships
        Employment
        ICC-NGO roundtables 2017
    Explorethe icc system
        International Criminal Court
        ICC situations and cases
        Assembly of States Parties
        Trust Fund for Victims
        20 ICC benefits
        ICC agenda 2017
        ICC tackling global challenges
    Latestnews
        All news
        Library
        Media
        Resources
        Archive
        Multimedia
        Global Justice Monitor
        Global Justice Weekly archive
    Take actionGet involved
    Donate