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WOMEN ON THE COURT NOW !
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 - 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 2003 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 women's 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 women's groups
taking creative and strategic action. The president of Costa Rica arbitrarily
decided not to proceed with Ms. Odio Benito's 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 women's groups supporting Ms. Odio Benito's candidacy raised public
awareness of Costa Rica's 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 world's
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 http://worldworld.com.
Click on 'enter' at the bottom of the homepage and then select the appropriate
country. For a listing of contact information for UN Missions, see http://www.un.org/Overview/missions.htm)
* 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 http://www.un.org/law/icc/elections/judges/judges_nominations.htm
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 Women's 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,
Women's Caucus for Gender Justice
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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 world's 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*
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