International Criminal Court - WOMEN ON THE COURT NOW ! ICC ELECTIONS UPDATE Campaign Communique No. 2

[ICC] WOMEN ON THE COURT NOW ! ICC Elections Update

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• Aleksandra.Miletic@unmibh.org

  To:letilica33@yahoo.com

  Oct 29, 2002 at 8:46 AM

  
  

  ---------------------- Forwarded by Aleksandra Miletic/UNMIBH on 29/10/2002

  08:39 ---------------------------

  
  

  
  

  "Women's Caucus for Gender Justice" <cicc4@iccnow.org> (by way of Shantha

  Rau) on 28/10/2002 21:05:11

  
  

  To:  ICC-info <icc-info@yahoogroups.com>

  cc:

  
  

  Subject:  [ICC] WOMEN ON THE COURT NOW ! ICC Elections Update

  
  

  
  

  
  

  WOMEN ON THE COURT NOW ! ICC ELECTIONS UPDATE

  Campaign Communique No. 2

  
  

  26 October 2002

  
  

  ONLY 5 MORE WEEKS TO ENSURE WOMEN ON THE COURT

  
  

  Keep Sending Letters and Identifying Qualified Women Committed to

  Gender Justice

  
  

  The nomination period for the election of 18 judges and a prosecutor

  (9 September ñ 30 November) for the ICC has just passed the halfway

  mark. Currently, 16 candidates have been officially nominated and

  only four are women. They include: Elizabeth Odio-Benito (Costa

  Rica); Anita Usaka (Latvia); Barbara Ott (Switzerland); and Eleanora

  Zielinska (Poland).

  
  

  The elections will be held from 3-7 February 2002 at UN Headquarters

  in New York. The rules for the elections adopted by the Assembly of

  States Parties ensure that the ICC elections will be the first for an

  international judicial institution subject to minimum voting

  requirements for women. However, in order for the process to work

  women must be first nominated as candidates. It is critical that

  concerned womenís groups contact their foreign and justice ministers

  and urge them to seek out and nominate qualified women who have a

  commitment to gender justice. (Please see below for a draft letter

  which can be adapted and sent to the relevant officials.)

  
  

  If by the end of 30 November 2002 there are fewer than 10 women

  candidates, the President of the Assembly is mandated to extend the

  nomination period by one week.

  
  

  The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court has set a new

  standard in international law as regards crimes of sexual and gender

  violence. The judges of the ICC must play a critical role in

  continuing the development of progressive jurisprudence relating to

  crimes of sexual and gender violence that was begun in the ad hoc

  tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

  
  

  The nomination of Elizabeth Odio Benito is one example of womenís

  groups taking creative and strategic action. The president of Costa

  Rica arbitrarily decided not to proceed with Ms. Odio Benitoís

  nomination to the Court, despite the widespread support of civil

  society. This was also despite the fact that Ms. Odio Benito had

  served as one of the first judges at the International Criminal

  Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and had a distinguished record as

  a human rights advocate.

  
  

  The womenís groups supporting Ms. Odio Benitoís candidacy raised

  public awareness of Costa Ricaís refusal and eventually the

  government of Panama decided to put her name forward in accordance

  with a provision of the Rome Statute which allows States Parties to

  nominate candidates who are nationals of other States Parties

  (Article 36(4)(b)).

  
  

  In light of the importance of the ICC and the need for parity in the

  worldís first permanent criminal court, we call upon you to actively

  participate in this campaign and take any or all of the following

  actions:

  
  

  (NOTE: For a listing of government contact information, see

  http://worldworld.com. Click on 'enter' at the bottom of the homepage

  and then select the appropriate country. For a listing of contact

  information for UN Missions, see

  http://www.un.org/Overview/missions.htm)

  
  

  * Write letters (draft letter attached) to all state parties at their

  capitals and UN Missions (except those that have already announced

  their nominations) about the importance of nominating qualified women

  judges and demanding to know what the country is doing to seek out

  qualified women as candidates.

  
  

  
  

  * If you are from a country that is a party to the ICC, adapt the

  attached draft letter and address it to the Head of State, officials

  at the Foreign, Justice and Women's ministries (if there is one),

  urging the nomination of qualified women judges. (Contact information

  can be found at the above web sites.)

  
  

  * Forward, circulate and adopt the campaign at the regional and

  national levels;

  
  

  * Put the campaign information on your website or link your website

  to ours - www.iccwomen.org

  
  

  * Check the official ICC website

  http://www.un.org/law/icc/elections/judges/judges_nominations.htm

  and the website of the Women's Caucus www.iccwomen.org  for

  officially announced nominations. If your country has announced a

  candidate, please evaluate the track record of his or her career as a

  judge or a legal professional from human rights and gender

  perspective and provide your feedback to the Assembly of States

  Parties of the ICC and the Women's Caucus for Gender Justice.

  
  

  * Speak out and circulate information about the Campaign at all

  meetings and conferences to be held before the end of November 2002

  where women's rights activist, human rights activists, legal

  professionals and members of jurists associations assemble. Check the

  website of the Womenís Caucus for information sheets that can be used

  and disseminated widely.

  
  

  Feel free to contact us for further information as the nomination

  process nears the end.

  
  

  In solidarity,

  
  

  
  

  Womenís Caucus for Gender Justice

  
  

  --------------------------------------------------

  
  

  Draft Letter to Prime Ministers/Presidents, Foreign/Justice/Women's

  Ministries, Parliamentarians and Missions

  
  

  NOTE: Please insert the name of the country the letter is addressed

  to everywhere you see [name of country].

  
  

  Re: Nomination of Qualified Women as Judges, Prosecutor and Deputy

  Prosecutor to the International Criminal Court

  
  

  Excellency,

  
  

  As you may know, there are fewer than six weeks left in the

  nomination period for the election of judges and prosecutor for the

  International Criminal Court (ICC). We are very concerned and

  determined that there should be a parity of women and men on the

  worldís first permanent criminal court.

  
  

  The record of women in different legal institutions at the

  international level has been dismal. Currently, there is only one

  woman judge serving at both the International Court of Justice and

  the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Three

  women are serving on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda

  and no women are serving on the 21-member International Tribunal for

  the Law of the Sea.

  
  

  The ICC will be the first international institution of the 21st

  century, indeed of the new millennium, established by multi-lateral

  treaty and is the first of its kind. It is time, finally, that women

  are accorded a presence in such institutions on an equitable footing.

  
  

  [Name of country], as a State Party to the Rome Statute, has a

  historic opportunity to ensure that the ICC sets a new standard with

  respect to a presence of women on the Court. Doing so will only

  increase its esteem and prestige in the world. In light of this, we

  request the following information:

  
  

  Is [name of country] intending to nominate a candidate for the

  position of judge, prosecutor or deputy prosecutor?

  
  

  1. If so, what steps is [name of country] taking to ensure that a

  'fair representation of female and male" judges in article 36(8)(a)

  of the Rome Statute is achieved?

  
  

  2. What specific steps is [name of country] taking to seek out,

  identify and nominate qualified women candidates for the position of

  judge, prosecutor or deputy prosecutor?

  
  

  3. What is the process by which [name of country] evaluates whether a

  candidate meets the criteria required for the position? Are a

  commitment to human rights and awareness of gender issues among them?

  
  

  4. To what extent has your government consulted with NGO's and

  representatives of civil society in the selection and nomination of

  your potential candidate? With fewer than six weeks to go before the

  nomination period closes on 30 November, we believe that governments

  of States Parties must take active steps to ensure that qualified

  women candidates are nominated. We look forward to an immediate

  response to the above concerns.

  
  

  Signed,

  
  

  [your name]

  
  

  *end*