Elisabeth Rehn elected Chair of the Board of Directors of the ICC Trust Fund for Victims
Press Release 93/2010
24 March 2010
Elisabeth Rehn was elected Chair of the Board of Directors of the Trust Fund for Victims within the International Criminal Court at the meeting held in New York on 23 March. Minister Rehn was elected to the Board of Directors of the Trust Fund for Victims in November 2009. The three-year term of the new Board of Directors began on 1 December 2009.
A distinguished and internationally recognised human rights expert, Rehn has previously served as a Member of the Finnish Parliament, Minister of Defence, Minister of Equality Affairs, a Member of the European Parliament, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, and as Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in the former Yugoslavia. In recent years, she has dedicated herself to international tasks. In particular, the impact of war on women and their role in peace building have figured prominently on Rehn’s agenda.
Elisabeth Rehn represents the group of Western European countries and Australia, Canada and New Zealand. In addition to Minister Rehn as the Chair, the five-member Board of Directors consists of Kenyan human rights lawyer Betty Kaari Murungi, Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, former President of Latvia, Eduardo Pizarro Leongómez, President of the National Committee for Reparation and Reconciliation of Columbia and Ambassador Bulgaa Altangerel of Mongolia.
The Trust Fund for Victims was established in 2002. Its aid activities at present are based on voluntary donations. Its objective is to assist victims of crime and their families in cases being processed by the International Criminal Court. The Board’s principal task is to guide the Trust Fund’s activities and allocation of resources and to coordinate and oversee assistance projects. The Board reports on its activities to the Assembly of States Parties composed of representatives of the States that have ratified and acceded to the Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court.
In its activities, the Trust Fund for Victims focuses, in particular, on the victims of sexual violence and former child soldiers, among others. The Fund’s assets are mainly used for the physical and psychological rehabilitation of victims and for material support. The Fund may also pay victims damages or other reparations by virtue of a decision given by the ICC during a trial. Projects are underway, e.g. in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.
Finland contributes actively to the international debate pertaining to the position of the victims of the most serious international crimes. Finland and Chile are currently preparing the review process concerning the position of victims for the Review Conference of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court that will take place in Kampala, Uganda in June 2010. Finland is also one of the largest donor countries of the ICC Trust Fund for Victims .
Additional information: Anu Saarela, Head of the Unit for Public International Law, mobile tel. +358 40 801 2851, and First Secretary Miia Aro-Sanchez, Embassy of Finland, The Hague, tel. +31 70 311 0143