International Criminal Court (ICC)

This afternoon, I met with some folks at the International Criminal Court. Here is a little background about the Court, since it is very different from ICTY, since it is just beginning rather than ending (for more info about ICTY see last post).

International Criminal Court (ICC) Background:

• ICC is the first permanent, international treaty-based court, independent from the United Nations (but the UN Security Council can recommend cases for the ICC to investigate).
• ICC can prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.
• ICC has jurisdiction only over events that happened after the ratification (I can't remember the exact date, but it is something like June 2002?) and it can only intervene in conflicts that involve a victim or perpetrator in a country that has ratified the statute. The conflict has to meet certain other requirements for the ICC to be able to intervene (such as the trials cannot feasibly be held in the home country, such as with racist or politically-motivated courts).
• Ths US is one of the only industrialized nations not to have ratified (signed on to) the ICC statute.
• ICC is different from other courts because of the mandate not only to prosecute crimes, but to provide reparations and needed services (including medical, psychological, and material support) to victims.
• ICC has not started trying cases yet, so right now is a unique time in the Court's history because they are beginning to develop the practical protocols to uphold the very lofty promises of the Rome Statute with regard to what the Court will offer in terms of reparation
• ICC has ongoing investigations in Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Darfur. (they are scheduled to start trying cases this summer from Uganda).
• On a personal note, I knew about the idea for the ICC (It is an OLD idea, in the works 30+ years through the UN) since maybe 1994, and I never thought it would really be ratified and actually exist in real life. So it has been so amazing to have these meetings here and even if I have no future here, I am happy to know that these incredible people are doing this important work.

This afternoon, I met with several women representing thepart of ICC that will provide the reparation and support to victims. They seemed very excited about my ideas for interdisciplinary response to mass trauma. I was told that my timing was excellent because my interests coincide with the desires of the ICC Victims Trust Fund Board of Directors (which includes Desmond Tutu!) to serve victim needs in a holistic way. The woman I met with called the executive director of the trust fund while I was there because she was so interested in facilitating a meeting between us (It looks like maybe we can meet when I am in the Netherlands again at the end of the trip).

She said that the ICC could really use a person with my skills and my inter-disciplinary orientation, and she said several times that the ICC is developing its practices and protocols right now (because they have the luxury of time because they haven't started trying cases yet).

The ICC Trust fund mandate is to restore dignity to the most vulnerable victimized populations, so they need to develop a team of people to locate and assess the needs of these populations. Of course this appeals to me very much.............

While this meeting was somewhat tangential to the Croatia/Bosnia project, it is part of a larger process of building career in international/human rights social work. I hope that my future collaboration with the ICC will have a lasting impact of the Court and the victim/survivor communities it serves.