Prosecution of Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes
Under the Rome Statute, a State Party is obliged to prosecute ICC crimes at national level. States Parties are expected to implement national legislation to allow for the successful prosecution of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide within their national judicial system. (To check where a country is with regard to this process, see the Amnesty International ICC Implementation webpage.)
The ICC itself will only step in to prosecute if the States Party with appropriate jurisdiction is unwilling or unable to prosecute the offence appropriately.
Getting Cases Prosecuted
Anyone may report an alleged case of genocide, crime against humanity or war crime which falls under the jurisdiction of the Court. This is an important fact for human rights defenders to remember. As Judge Maureen Harding Clarke, the Irish judge at the Court, said at Front Line’s Second Dublin Platform for Human Rights Defenders,
"The ICC will work, when you, as Mary Robinson described you, ‘the eyes and the ears of the international community’, observe, defend, report and inform the rest of the world about what is happening."
If you are aware of a Crime Against Humanity which is not being prosecuted appropriately, or at all, you can send a communication to the Prosecutor. In order to do so, prepare a file containing all relevant information and evidence for the Office of the Prosecutor in The Hague. The Prosecutor can then decide if it is possible to bring an independent investigation. To do this, send your communication to the address below. In some regions, posting it may be inefficient or unsafe, it may be important to try and send it by courier. It is important that all evidence gets to the Prosecutor in the best possible condition for analysis.
The Prosecutor’s address is: International Criminal Court Office of the Prosecutor Information and Evidence Unit Post Office Box 19519 2500 CM The Hague The Netherlands
Fax: +31 70 5158555 Email: otp.informationdesk@icc-cpi.int
Human Rights Defenders can also find further information in Human Rights Watch's How Nongovernmental Organizations Can Contribute To the Prosecution of War Criminals.
Reparation for Victims
The Court has gone beyond solely penal aspects of justice in its approach to war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. As well as prison sentences, the Court may order a convicted person to provide reparation in the form of compensation, restitution, rehabilitation, satisfaction, guarantees of non-repetition and any other type of reparation the Court deems appropriate.
The International Criminal Court is the first international criminal tribunal to include special provisions for victims. Victims may be represented in the Court proceedings and the Rome Statute also establishes a Victims Trust Fund, which provides a financial resource to support victims directly, or those working with victims. The Fund is supported by States Parties, individual donors and from assets confiscated from those convicted by the Court.
Getting Reparation for Victims
The Victims Trust Fund has recently established its Board of Directors. One of their first tasks is to establish criteria on how the Fund should make its decisions. Once that has been established, it will be in a position to distribute funds to victims.
Victims Trust Fund Maanweg, 174 2516 AB The Hague The Netherlands
Telephone: + 31 70 515 8515 Fax: +31 70 5158555
Email: trust.fund@icc-cpi.int Or vpru@icc-cpi.int