[women-rights] Women on the court now ! ICC elections update

WOMEN ON THE COURT NOW ! ICC ELECTIONS UPDATE
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 2002 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

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

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*