[women-rights] WOMEN ON THE COURT NOW ! Campaign Communique No. 1

         -  please distribute widely and apologies for crosspostings -
              Spanish and French translations will be forthcoming


WOMEN ON THE COURT NOW !
Campaign Communique No. 1 (17September 2002)

-12 Week Window of Opportunity to Get Women on the ICC -

Dear friends,

Over the last five years, women from different parts of the world have come
together through the Women's Caucus for Gender Justice to influence the
negotiations toward the creation of the International Criminal Court (ICC)
from a gender perspective.  The support by a large number of groups and
individuals who raised awareness of gender issues in the negotiations, acted
upon action alerts and/or advocated in the capitals and at national and
regional levels is largely responsible for the successes achieved in this
process.

Now, we are entering the establishment phase of the process and one of the
first major acts of the Assembly of States Parties is to elect the judges,
prosecutor and deputy prosecutor. ONCE AGAIN we need the combined efforts
and actions of the international women's human rights movement and other
civil society actors during this critical phase. There is a very short
window of opportunity to help ensure a substantial presence of women in the
Court as judges as well as prosecutor and deputy prosecutors.  In order for
this court to have legitimacy in the eyes of the world, it must have a
representative face and must include a fair representation of women and men.
We know from experience how important it is to have women on the Court in
addition to legal experts on violence against women to help ensure the
proper investigation and prosecution of crimes of gender and sexual
violence.

The nomination period for judges and the prosecutor opened on 9 September
and will close on 30 November 2002.  The elections will be held from
February 3-7, 2002.  Of the nine countries that have announced their
candidates so far, only one has put forward a woman (Switzerland).

Eighteen judges will be elected in February 2003 and the voting procedure is
such that each country must vote for at least six women and men.  However,
to maintain this minimum voting requirement for women, there must be at
least nine women nominated to begin with.  In the event there are fewer than
nine female candidates, the minimum voting requirement is reduced. (See
attached information sheet.) While these are minimum voting requirements are
important, the goal must be nothing less than parity of women and men which
could be accomplished by achieving a high number of nominations of qualified
women.

The period within which to influence this is very brief hence the urgency of
this campaign.

At the same time, there has been little noticeable effort to identify
qualified candidates for the position of Prosecutor.  This is alarming as
the Prosecutor will be the public face of the Court and much of the
direction the Court takes strategically, legally and politically will depend
on the quality of the Prosecutor.  A prosecutor that would use the position
to cater to the concerns of powerful countries would set the ICC on a
dangerous course.  The task of identifying qualified candidates, male and
female, for the office of the prosecutor is critical.  Women's groups must
advocate that countries seek out, identify and nominate qualified women for
this position as well as that of the deputy prosecutors who will be elected
later next year.

Attached and pasted below are the following documents:

I. Draft letter that could be adapted and sent out to all state parties or
directed to one state party at the national level;

II. Information sheet containing basic information such as criteria for
candidates and relevant rules governing the nomination and election process;

III. List of countries that have ratified the ICC statute (only state
parties can nominate their own nationals or nationals from other state
parties);

We call upon you to actively participate in this campaign and take all or
any of the following actions:

* 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.  (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)

* 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 and circulate information about the Campaign at all meetings and
conferences to be held before mid-November 2002 where women's rights
activist, human rights activists, legal professionals and members of jurists
association assemble.

* Write to us if you have information about qualified women who are
potential candidates and whether she is encountering obstacles at the
national level;

Finally, we hope you will not succumb to email fatigue as you may receive
other action alerts from us during this short span of 11-12 weeks concerning
the nomination of qualified women candidates if the candidates.  We
appreciate any action you have taken thus far in response to previous
alerts.

Twelve weeks is all we have to influence this process and your action is
critical.  Remember - parity is the aspiration and nomination of a high
number of qualified women judges is the goal. We need WOMEN ON THE WORLD'S
FIRST PERMANENT CRIMINAL COURT and WE NEED IT NOW.

In solidarity,

Women's Caucus for Gender Justice

---------------------------------------------------------
I. 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,

We understand that at the first meeting of the Assembly of States Parties of
the International Criminal Court (ICC) from 3-9 September 2002, the rules
for nomination and election of judges were adopted and the nomination period
was officially opened. We are now writing to express our serious concern
that the mandates of the Rome Statute regarding a fair representation of
women and men in the composition of the Court be fulfilled.

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. Further, the
recently released list of candidates for election to the ICJ does not
contain even one woman candidate.

Given the difficulties in the negotiations of rules for the election of
judges and the fact that only one of the nine countries which have so far
announced their candidates has put forward a woman, we are concerned that
there is less real commitment among the States Parties to carry forward the
gender mainstreaming mandates of the Rome Statute. 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 endorsement of
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 only twelve 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]

-------------------------------------------------------------


II.

Women on the Court Now !
Campaign Information Sheet


In February 2003, elections will be held for the first 18 judges and
Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. The Rome Statute sets out a
series of criteria that are to be applied to potential candidates for
elected posts for the ICC. Resolutions of the Assembly of States Parties
sets out the rules governing the nomination and election process.


§   CRITERIA FOR JUDGES OF THE ICC:


-          Candidates must be nationals of a State Party - Article 36(4)(b)

-          Candidates should have excellent knowledge and be fluent in at
least one o fthe working languages of the Court (English and French) -
Article 36(3)(c)

-          Must be persons of 'high moral character, impartiality and
integrity' - Article 36(3)(a)

  Article 36(3)(b) requires that judicial nominees have 'established
competence' in:

(a) criminal law and procedure and 'necessary relevant experience' whether
as a judge, prosecutor, or advocate in criminal proceedings or


(b) relevant areas of international law, such as humanitarian law and the
law of human rights.

There must be at least nine candidates with experience from List A and at
least five from List B


In addition, article 36(8)(a) of the statute requires that States Parties
take into account the need for:


-          a fair representation of female and male judges;

-          equitable geographical representation;

-          a representation of the principle legal systems of the world

Article 36 (8)(b) provides that States Parties must also "take into Account
the need to include judges with legal expertise on specific issues
including, but not limited to, violence against women or children."



§   NOMINATION PROCEDURES

Rome Statute Requirements:

According to Article 36(4)(a), states may choose one of two procedures they
will use to nominate candidates:

(1)     Through the procedure for nomination of candidates for appointment
to highest judicial office;

(2)     Through the procedure for nomination of candidates for the
International Court of Justice

Note: The procedure for nomination to the ICJ is often much more difficult
to discern in the national system. Candidates are chosen by the national
groups of the Permanent Court of Arbitrators. Normally four persons comprise
the national group who ideally select candidates and submit them through the
relevant ministry. However, this process is often very informal and
non-transparent. To find out who the national groups are comprised of visit:
www.pca-cpa.org/PDF/Members.pdf.


States must also submit a statement detailing how the candidate fulfills the
statute's criteria.


Assembly of States Parties Rules:


The ICC Assembly of States parties adopted a set of resolutions containing
rules that will govern the nomination and election of judges, prosecutor and
deputy prosecutor. They provide the following:


Nomination Period: The ICC Assembly of States Parties opened the nomination
period on 9 September 2002. The nomination period will close on 30 November
2002.


The President of the ASP must inform all States Parties of the status of
nominations as of 1 November 2002 and must specifically identify:


-          whether there are fewer candidates with criminal law experience
or international law experience than what is required by the Statute;

-          whether there are fewer candidates from each region than is
required by the resolution of the ASP;

-          whether there are fewer than 10 male or female candidates as
required by the resolution of the ASP

If at the end of the nomination period, there are fewer candidates in each
of these categories than what is required by the Statute or the resolution
of the Assembly, then the President of the ASP must extend the nomination
period to 8 December 2002 in order to allow more time for additional
nominations.


§   ELECTION OF JUDGES


The first elections of the judges will be held from 3-7 February 2003 at UN
Headquarters in New York. At this election, all 18 judges will be elected.
According to article 36(9), six of these judges will serve a 3-year term,
another six will serve a 6-year term and the remaining six will serve a
9-year term. This will be determined by drawing lots. Afterward, elections
will be held every 3 years for six judges at a time.


A resolution adopted by the Assembly of States Parties sets in place a
series of minimum voting requirements intended to ensure a the statute's
mandates of 'fair representation' of women and men and equitable
geographical distribution are carried out. Accordingly, each state party
must vote for at least 3 candidates for each region unless the number of
States Parties from a region is less than 1/6 the total number of States
Parties to the Rome Statute at the time of the election.


Minimum Voting Requirement (MVR) for Gender: During the balloting, each
State Party must vote for at least six women and at least six men provided
that the number of candidates from each sex is greater than 10. If the
number of candidates from one gender is 10 or less, the Assembly adopted the
following formula that will be applied to determine what the minimum voting
requirement should be:


If the number of candidates is:     9 or 10, the MVR is six.

7 or 8, the MVR is five.

6, the MVR is four.

5, the MVR is three.

4, the MVR is two.

2 or 3, the MVR is one.

All of the minimum voting requirements - regional, gender and area of
expertise - will be applied during the first four rounds of voting and will
be adjusted after each round according to the candidates elected and the
fulfillment of the requirements. However, the minimum voting requirements
will be suspended altogether after four rounds of voting and the elections
will be open.


§   CRITERIA FOR ELECTION OF THE PROSECUTOR


Article 42(3) of the Rome Statute requires that the Prosecutor must be of
high moral character, be highly competent in and have extensive practical
experience in the prosecution or trial of criminal cases and have excellent
knowledge of and be fluent in at least one of the working language of the
Court.


A resolution of the Assembly of States Parties provides that nominations
should be made with the support of multiple States Parties. The resolution
also provides that the election of the Prosecutor should be by consensus. If
consensus is not possible, then the candidate obtaining the highest number
of votes and an absolute majority will be considered elected.

-------------------------------------

III.

States Parties to the Rome Statute (79) - as of 9 September 2002

Andorra
Antigua & Barbuda
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bolivia
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cambodia,
the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ireland,
Jordan, Mongolia, Niger, Romania and Slovakia
Botswana
Brazil
Canada
Central African Republic
Colombia *
Costa Rica
Croatia
Cyprus
Denmark
Dominica
East Timor
Ecuador
Estonia
Fiji
Finland
France
Gabon
Gambia
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Honduras
Hungary
Iceland
Italy
Latvia
Lesotho
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Macedonia, FYR
Mali
Marshall Islands
Mauritius
Namibia
Nauru
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nigeria
Norway
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Poland
Portugal
San Marino
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Slovenia
South Africa
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Trinidad and Tobago
Uganda
United Kingdom
Uruguay
Venezuela
Yugoslavia



Women's Caucus for Gender Justice
33-53 Vernon Blvd, Ste 1
Long Island City, NY 11106
T: 718-626-2681
F: 718-626-3528
URL: www.iccwomen.org

Attachment: States Parties to the Rome Statute.doc
Description: MS-Word document

Attachment: draftelectionletter.doc
Description: MS-Word document

Attachment: Women on the Court Now -Info sheet.doc
Description: MS-Word document