French Minister of Justice Christiane Taubira announces a contribution to the TFV during her visit to the ICC, where she met with ICC President Judge Silvia Fernández, ICC Judge Marc Perrin de Brichambaut of France, ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, ICC Registrar Herman von Hebel, and TFV Executive Director Pieter de Baan © ICC-CPI.
French Minister of Justice visits the ICC and announces a contribution of €750,000 to the Trust Fund for Victims.
On 7 December 2015, French Minister of Justice Christiane Taubira announced a voluntary contribution of €750,000 to the Trust Fund for Victims (TFV) at the International Criminal Court (ICC). The contribution is the single largest French donation to the TFV to date.
Minister Taubira announced the contribution, made by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during her visit to the ICC in The Hague today, where she met ICC President Judge Silvia Fernández, ICC Judge Marc Perrin de Brichambaut of France, ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, ICC Registrar Herman von Hebel, and TFV Executive Director Pieter de Baan.
The President of the Court, Judge Silvia Fernández, thanked Minister Taubira for France’s contribution and highlighted the important position of victims in the ICC’s operations. “The justice that the Court provides must be meaningful to those most impacted by the crimes under our jurisdiction, and to achieve this, it is essential to give effect to the full range of retributive and reparative aspects of justice under the Rome Statute. For these purposes, this generous donation to the Trust Fund for Victims is an important contribution, and a reflection of France’s longstanding support of the Court”, President Fernández said.
On behalf of the Trust Fund for Victims, Executive Director Pieter de Baan expressed gratitude for the significant contribution, recalling that France was a strong supporter of the creation of the TFV at the time of the establishment of the Rome Statute in 1998 and that Ms Simone Veil has been the first Chair of the Board of Directors of the TFV during 2003-2009.
Mr. De Baan further hailed the significance of the contribution indicating the resumption of France’s financial support to the TFV as an unprecedented institution to address the harm suffered by victims of the most heinous international crimes. The visit ended with a discussion highlighting the importance of improving proceedings on asset recovery for the purpose of reparations to victims. The ICC depends on State cooperation in this regard.
