Press Releases

1. On 19 March, the election of the Chair of the Board of the Directors of the Trust Fund for Victims (TFV) was held during the Annual Meeting of the Board, and Mr. Motoo Noguchi, former International Judge of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) (currently Director of the International Cooperation Department, Research and Training Institute of the Ministry of Justice and Senior Attorney of the International Legal Affairs Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) was unanimously elected.
2. The ICC has adjudicated its first-ever guilty verdict in the case of The Prosecutor v. Thomas Lubanga in March 2012, and decided the principles of and procedures to be applied to reparations in August. The TFV is expected to conduct reparation-related activities.
3. Mr. Noguchi has been involved with victim reparation as an International Judge of the ECCC, and assumed the member of the Board of the Directors of the TFV in November 2012. Under the current situation of the ICC, at the start of its reparation phase, Mr. Noguchi, as a new Chair of the TFV, will greatly contribute for the reparation activities of the ICC with his knowledge and experience, which will have a significant impact on the relationship between Japan and the ICC.
4. Japan will continue its active support 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 commit 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 of the ICC. Currently, the number of state parties is 122 (as of March 2013). The location of the ICC is The Hague in the Netherlands.

[Reference 2] Trust Fund for Victims (TFV)

(1) The TFV was established in the first ASP based on the Rome Statute. The TFV works for victims of crimes and their families within the jurisdiction of the ICC with a particular mandates, as follows: (i) to implement Court-ordered reparations, and (ii) to provide physical and psychological rehabilitation or mental support to victims of crimes within the jurisdiction of the ICC. TFV activities are funded through voluntary contributions by states and donations by private donors.

(2) The TFV has worked on victim support programmes covering 84,000 victims such as support to victims of sexual violence, former child soldiers, and kidnapped children in Congo and Uganda. The TFV is starting activities to implement reparations.

(3) The Board of Directors of the TFV 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 the substance of projects and allocation of the Trust Fund.

[Reference 3] List of elected members of the Board of the Directors of the TFV

(1) Mr. Sayeman Bula-Bula (Democratic Republic of Congo)
(2) Mr. Motoo Noguchi (Japan)
(3) Ms. Vaira Vike-Freiberga (Latvia [re-elected])
(4) Mr. Denys Toscano Amores (Equador)
(5) Ms. Elisabeth Rehn (Finland [re-elected])