The Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice is an international women's human rights organisation that advocates for gender justice through the International Criminal Court (ICC) and through domestic mechanisms, including peace negotiations and justice processes. We work with women most affected by the conflict situations under investigation by the ICC.

The Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice works in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, the Central African Republic, Kenya, and Libya.

Offices
■ Kampala and Amolatar, Uganda
■ The Hague, the Netherlands

Dear Friends,

Welcome to the December 2015 issue of Women’s Voices, a regular eLetter from the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice. In Women’s Voices, we provide updates and analysis on political developments, the pursuit of justice and accountability, the participation of women in peace talks and reconciliation efforts from the perspective of women’s rights activists within armed conflict situations, specifically those countries under investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) including Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Darfur, the Central African Republic (CAR I and CAR II), Kenya, Libya, Côte d’Ivoire and Mali.

In addition to Women’s Voices, we also produce a regular legal eLetter, Legal Eye on the ICC, with summaries and gender analysis of judicial decisions and other legal developments at the ICC, and discussion of legal issues arising from victims’ participation before the Court, particularly as these issues relate to the prosecution of gender-based crimes in each of the Situations under investigation by the ICC.

More information about the work of the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice and previous issues of Women’s Voices and Legal Eye on the ICC can be found on our website 4genderjustice.org.

This issue highlights three key events the Women’s Initiatives was involved with during the ICC annual Assembly of States Parties (ASP) held in November 2015, including: the plenary on complementarity and sexual violence; the launch of a new gender justice publication; and the statement issued by the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice on the 2016 ICC budget.

From all of us at the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice we wish you a Merry Christmas and a peaceful new year.

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Plenary on complementarity and sexual violence

During the 14th session of the annual ASP to the ICC, the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice was invited to speak on a plenary panel held on 19 November 2015 addressing complementarity and exchanging views on strategic action to enhance national capacity to investigate and prosecute sexual and gender-based crimes. The particular focus of the discussions was ensuring access to justice for, and enhancing empowerment of, victims of sexual and gender-based crimes at the national level.

This was the first plenary ever held at the ASP dedicated to a discussion on accountability for sexual and gender-based violence in the context of the ICC’s jurisdiction and the responsibility of States Parties to pursue domestic prosecutions for these crimes.

The plenary was organised and co-hosted by the Governments of Sweden and Botswana. Panelists included H.E. Ms Alice Bah Kuhnke, Minister for Culture and Democracy of Sweden; H.E. Mr Sidiki Kaba, Minister of Justice of Senegal and President of the Assembly of States Parties; Ms Fatou Bensouda, ICC Prosecutor; Dr Athaliah L. Molokomme, Attorney General of Botswana; Ms Thelma Aldana, Attorney General of Guatemala; Mr Mike Chibita, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) of Uganda; and Ms Brigid Inder, Executive Director of the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice and Special Advisor on Gender to the Prosecutor of the ICC.

■ Read the presentation by Brigid Inder, Executive Director, here.

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Launch of new gender justice publication

On 23 November 2015, as part of the 14th session of the ASP to the ICC, the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice and the Australian Embassy in The Netherlands co-sponsored the launch of ‘The Politics of Gender Justice at the International Criminal Court: Legacies and Legitimacy’ by Professor Louise Chappell.

Louise Chappell's new book argues that – despite significant advances in some areas — the Court’s record in prosecuting sexual and gender-based crimes reflects continuing legacies and silences of international law. 

Speakers included: H.E. Dr Brett Mason, Australian Ambassador to The Netherlands; Ms Fatou Bensouda, ICC Prosecutor (keynote speaker); Ms Brigid Inder, Executive Director of the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice; and Professor Louise Chappell, author.

■ Read the speech by Brigid Inder, Executive Director, here.

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Statement on the ICC budget

During the 14th session of the ASP, the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice issued a statement on the 2016 budget.

The Women’s Initiatives has monitored and analysed the institutional development of the ICC for the past 11 years. Every year for more than a decade, we have documented and published our analysis of the Court - with respect to its substantive work and institutional developments – in our annual Gender Report Card on the ICC.

We have always invested in monitoring the Court as a global public institution based on the premise that without a sound and stable structure, the ICC will not be able to deliver on its substantive mandate with respect to the prosecution of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Drawing on our longitudinal data, the Women’s Initiatives’ statement reflects some of our concerns regarding the implementation of the restructuring process of the ICC Registry, known as the ReVision Project.

In the past 18 months, we have observed an unprecedented volume and range of issues within the Registry in particular, where compliance with ICC staff rules, administrative law, financial regulations and ASP resolutions, appears to not have been met.

It is our view that at this time the ICC is institutionally more vulnerable in its administrative areas, than it has ever been before. Largely this appears to be due to diminished compliance within the Registry with respect to the Court’s regulatory framework, primarily in relation to the implementation of ReVision.

The Women’s Initiatives welcomes the decision of States Parties at the ASP to conduct an external audit of the ReVision Project including its cost, process, implementation and impact.

■ Read the full statement by the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice here.

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