Protection For Women Is Paramount To End Impunity
On International Women’s Day, Global Coalition Calls for States to Renew Commitment to ICC Landmark Gender Standards
New York -- Today, 8 March 2010 marks the celebration of International Women’s Day. On this occasion, the Coalition for
the International Criminal Court (CICC) - a global network of more than 2,500 organizations in 150 countries advocating
for a fair, effective and independent International Criminal Court (ICC) – calls on governments to promote justice for
women by ratifying the Rome Statute and by implementing its landmark gender provisions at the national level.
Today, the Coalition wishes to recall the importance of the Rome Statute as a powerful instrument for protecting women’s
rights. The Rome Statute’s provisions by targeting sexual crimes represent a historic advance for international justice:
the Statute is one of the first international treaties to extensively address gender-based crimes as crimes against
humanity, war crimes, and in some instances, genocide. Specifically, the Statute recognizes rape, sexual slavery, forced
prostitution, forced pregnancy, forced sterilizations, gender-based persecutions, trafficking of persons particularly
women and children, and sexual violence as among the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a
whole.
“Countries are strongly encouraged to bring their national laws in line with the standards enshrined in the Rome
Statute, both in terms of criminalizing the serious crimes contained in the Statute and by assuring that laws make full
cooperation with the Court possible,” said William R. Pace.
International Women's Day helps bring into sharper focus the urgency of the work of the Court to end impunity for crimes
against women and serves as a reminder that civil society needs to push States parties of the Rome Statute to
continually move forward with effective and comprehensive implementation so that protection of women’s rights are
guaranteed at both national and international levels.
The Coalition and women’s organization around the world will continue their tireless efforts after today’s celebration
to make sure that violence and persecution of women are treated as they are: serious criminal and humanitarian law
violations.
ENDS