---------------------- Forwarded by Aleksandra Miletic/UNMIBH on 29/10/2002
08:39 ---------------------------
Rau) on 28/10/2002 21:05:11
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
and then select the appropriate country. For a listing of contact
information for UN Missions, see
* 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
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*
