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Can the ICC “Call it What it is”? Addressing Israel’s Impunity for Sexual Violence in Palestine

Reports have uncovered alarming evidence of rampant sexual violence and torture of Palestinian prisoners by Israeli forces. In August, the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem released a comprehensive report with testimonies from 55 Palestinians, revealing widespread torture, sexual violence, and …

Exterior of the ICC. Credit @ ICC.

Presentation to the Assembly of States Parties’ Committee on Budget and Finance

Executive Director Alix Vuillemin recently presented to the Assembly of States Parties’ Committee on Budget and Finance at the ICC, addressing the urgent need for gender-sensitive institutional development. Despite years of effort, 30% of ICC staff still experience workplace harassment—a …

Photo of the exterior of the International Criminal Court in the Hague.

Statement on Concerns Over Judicial Deliberations in Al Hassan Trial Judgment

The recent trial judgment in the Al Hassan case by the International Criminal Court (ICC) has raised concerns regarding judicial deliberations and their implications for justice.    The fragmented decision by Trial Chamber X underscores the challenges of achieving unanimity, …

Panelists discussing in front of audience.

Reproductive Violence in International Criminal Law Conference

On 11 June 2024, the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice, together with Dr Rosemary Grey, the International Institute of Social Studies, the Legal Mobilization Platform, the Strategic Litigation Project, the Global Justice Center and the Sydney Centre for International Law …

Call for Proposals: “Global Initiative Against Impunity For International Crimes and Serious Human Rights Violations: Making Justice Work”

Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice, on behalf of the “Global Initiative Against Impunity for International Crimes and Serious Human Rights Violations: Making Justice Work” Programme, is launching a Call for Proposals aiming to support local actors globally. The deadline for …

GREVIO Report Launch: “Sexual Violence and Stigmatisation of Victims”

The NGO Shadow report “Sexual Violence and Stigmatisation of Victims” examines the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence in Ukraine. The report identifies significant barriers within the Ukrainian criminal …

Making Justice Work : Civil Society Unites in the Global Fight Against Impunity

Impunity is the most significant obstacle to justice and reparation for victims and survivors of human rights violations and core international crimes. Often, only a small number of perpetrators are held accountable. When impunity is pervasive, it has profound consequences for societies, …

Joint Statement in Support of Progress toward a Crimes Against Humanity Treaty

On 27 March 2024, Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice is joining 300+ organisations and individuals to urge, in a joint statement, UN Member States to declare support for moving a gender-competent and survivor-centric treaty on crimes against humanity into negotiations.  The …

Civil Society Open Letter to Inform the New ICC OTP Policy on Environmental Crimes with a Gender Lens

In a groundbreaking move, the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) at the International Criminal Court (ICC) launched a pioneering policy initiative in February 2024 dedicated to bolstering accountability for environmental crimes under the framework of the Rome Statute through the …

Gender and International Criminal Law Conference

Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice, together with Legal Action Worldwide, Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies, UN Women, the Australian Embassy in The Hague and the International Gender Champions Network, were very pleased to co-host the Gender and International Criminal Law conference on 16-17 January …

Statement 22nd ASP: Calling on a gender sensitive and intersectional Assembly session

In our joint General Debate Statement with the Global Justice Center, we call on states at the 22nd Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute session to be mindful of the impact of their decisions over the next two …

ASP22 Report launch: “Judicial Approaches to SGBC at the ICC”

To bolster the full potential of the Court in enhancing accountability for sexual and gender-based violence (SGBC), Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice undertook a comprehensive analysis of ICC’s jurisprudential developments on SGBC to date. We are delighted to share our …

Advancing Transparency: Joint NGO Comments on the ICC OTP’s Draft Policy on Complementarity and Cooperation

The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) is formulating a Policy on Complementarity and Cooperation. This policy aims to support cooperation and complementarity efforts to encourage and facilitate the compliance of States with their primary responsibility to …

Joint Submission: Gendering the Draft Treaty on Crimes Against Humanity

On 11-12 October 2023, the United Nations Sixth Committee debated the draft of the international treaty on crimes against humanity. Ahead of these meetings, the Global Justice Centre convened Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice and other human rights organizations and …

Joint NGO Letter on victims’ meaningful participation at the International Criminal Court: Legal aid reform

The International Criminal Court (ICC) and its States Parties are reforming the ICC’s Legal Aid Policy (LAP). In a joint letter sent on 17 October 2023 to the Court and States, Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice, the International Federation for …

Comments on the Renewal of the ICC OTP 2014 Policy Paper on SGBC

The Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice welcomes the International Criminal Court Office of the Prosecutor’s initiative to renew its 2014 Policy Paper on Sexual and Gender-Based Crimes. We invite you to read our submission which presents five main calls to …

Introducing the New Executive Director of Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice

It is with great excitement that I announce that the Board of Directors voted unanimously for the appointment of Alix Vuillemin, an experienced advocate leader and coalition builder, to be our new Executive Director. After more than five years leading …

Joint NGO letter on the draft MLA Convention

Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice joins Amnesty International, Civitas Maxima, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, the Global Survivors’ Fund, Human Rights Watch, the International Federation for Human Rights, Parliamentarians for Global Action, REDRESS, and TRIAL International in …

ASP 2022 – Side event CRSV in Ukraine

Welcome to “A sustainable model for responding to conflict-related sexual violence in Ukraine” To follow the interpretation or join online, please access this link. The agenda for today’s event is as follows:   13:15-13:20. Introduction and welcoming remarks by H.E. Henk-Cor van …

Recommendation to include comprehensive due diligence measures in future ICC elections

On 14 April 2022, Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice submitted these recommendations to the ASP’s co-facilitators for the lessons learnt exercise on the election of the ICC Prosecutor. In its submission, Women’s Initiatives points to the need to include due …

Joint statement with Global Rights Compliance on International Women’s Day

On International Women’s Day 2022, Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice joins Global Rights Compliance in expressing concern for the real possibility that sexual and gender-based violence (‘SGBV’) will occur within the context of Russia’s most recent invasion of Ukraine and …

Joint NGO letter urging President of Ukraine to sign international crimes law

On 30 September 2021, Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice joined four other NGOs in urging the President of Ukraine to sign Law No. 1164-IX “On amendments to certain legislative acts of Ukraine concerning the implementation of provisions of international criminal …

Obituary – Jeanine Bandu Bahati Mburano / Nécrologie – Jeanine Bandu Bahati Mburano

Pour la version française, voir ci-dessous.    Jeanine Bandu Bahati Mburano 22 February 1967 – 10 September 2021 It is with great sadness that we learned of the passing of our long-time partner Jeanine Bandu Bahati Mburano, coordinator of the …

Joint report launch on SGBC accountability at the ICC under Prosecutor Bensouda

On Friday 18 June, to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) launched a publication called “Accountability for Sexual and Gender-Based Crimes …

Open civil society letter thanking ICC Prosecutor Bensouda for service

Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice proudly joins 78 human rights organizations in sending a letter of gratitude to the outgoing International Criminal Court’s Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, for her many years of service to the Court and for the progress made …

NPWJ and WIGJ submission on the ICC OTP Draft Policy on Cultural Heritage

On 16 April 2021, No Peace Without Justice (NPWJ) and Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice (WIGJ) responded to a call by the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to provide written comments on its Draft Policy on Cultural …

WIGJ joins 70+ organisations in calling for the Biden administration to immediately reset U.S. policy regarding the ICC and lift sanctions against ICC officials

On February 17th, Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice joined over 70 Non-Governmental Organizations, Faith-Based Groups, and Academic Institutions to call for the Biden Administration to rescind executive order 13928, authorizing sanctions against ICC personnel. The executive order put in place …

Karim Khan elected next Prosecutor of the ICC

On Friday 12 February 2021, following a nearly 18-month identification and selection process, the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) to the Rome Statute elected Mr Karim Khan as the next Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Mr Khan was …

Trailblazing ICC Judgment on SGBC – Ongwen verdict advances international accountability for forced marriage and forced pregnancy

On Thursday 4 February 2021, Dominic Ongwen was convicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on 61 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Prosecution had placed sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) at the heart of the case, …

Conclusion #WhyIDidntReport Twitter Campaign

[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”4″ display=”basic_slideshow”] On Friday, Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice and ATLAS concluded the #WhyIDidntReport Twitter campaign, which highlighted chronic underreporting of workplace misconduct at international justice institutions. The campaign has shed light on the vast scale of underreporting, …

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