Press Releases
Re-Election of Mr. Motoo Noguchi as the Chair of the Board of the Directors of the Trust Fund for Victims (TFV) of the International Criminal Court (ICC)
1. On 18 April, Mr. Motoo Noguchi, Member of the Board of the Directors of the TFV, who is the Prosecutor of the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office and former International Judge of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), was re-elected as the Chair of the Board at its Annual Meeting. Prior to his re-election as the Chair, Mr. Noguchi had been re-elected as Member of the TFV Board of Directors at the 14th Session of the Assembly of States Parties of the ICC in November 2015.
2. The TFV has been making steady progress with its support projects for female and child victims in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Moreover, the TFV is expected to implement its reparation project in a full-fledged manner for the victims of the case against Mr. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for which the ICC had already rendered its final judgment in 2014.
3. Mr. Noguchi’s continued leadership in the ICC's efforts to provide reparations and assitance to victims with his expertise and experience will have a significant impact on the relationship between Japan and the ICC, to which Japan has consistently been contributing actively.
4. Japan will continue to actively contribute to the activities of the ICC.
(Reference 1) International Criminal Court (ICC)
The ICC is the first-ever permanent international criminal court for prosecuting and sentencing individuals who has committed the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole (the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and crimes of aggression). The Rome Statute, the foundation treaty of the ICC, was adopted in July 1998 and enacted on July 1, 2002. Japan deposited the instrument of accession on July 17, 2007, and became the 105th State Party to the Rome Statute. As of April 2016, there are 124 States Parties. The ICC is located in The Hague, the Netherlands.
(Reference 2) Trust Fund for Victims (TFV)
The TFV was established under the Rome Statutes at the first session of the Assembly of States Parties. The TFV provides support to victim survivors of crimes within the jurisdiction of the ICC and their families, and has two mandates: (i) to implement Court-ordered reparations; and (ii) to provide physical and psychological rehabilitation or material support to victims of crimes within the jurisdiction of the ICC. TFV activities are funded through voluntary contributions from States Parties and donations from private donors. Since 2014, Japan has contributed approximately €650,000 to the TFV.
The TFV has been engaged with victim support programmes for victims of sexual violence, former child soldiers and kidnapped children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. The TFV is now working to implement Court-ordered reparations.
The TFV Board of Directors consists of five members working in their personal capacities. The Board appeals for voluntary contributions and donations from states, private entities and individuals, and holds meetings at least once a year to decide on the substance of projects and allocation of the Trust Fund.
(Reference 3) List of elected members of the TFV Board of the Directors
- Mr. Motoo NOGUCHI (Japan) (Chair)
- Ms. Mama Doumbia KOITE (Mali)
- Mr. Felipe Raúl MICHELINI (Uruguay)
- Ms. Arminka HELIĆ (United Kingdom)
- Ms. Alma TASO DELJKOVIĆ (Bosnia and Herzegovina)