Joly said in a Global Affairs Canada statement May 26 that Ottawa has authorized the deployment of seven specialized police investigators and civilian law enforcement experts to the ICC in addition to the three already authorized for deployment.
Canada is also giving an additional $1 million to the Trust Fund for Victims (separate from the court) which was created in 2004 by the Assembly of States Parties, in accordance with art. 79 of the Rome Statute, to support and implement programs that address harms resulting from genocide, crimes of humanity, war crimes and aggression.
The trust fund’s mandate is to implement court-ordered reparations and provide physical, psychological and material support to victims and their families.
“A voluntary financial contribution of $1 million to the Trust Fund will complement Canada’s support to the ICC and will allow the ICC to redirect much-needed resources to support the investigation of reported atrocities committed by the Russian forces in Ukraine,” Global Affairs Canada states in its press release.
The $1-million contribution will be used to support both witnesses and survivors, as well as to develop expertise on gender-based crimes and crimes committed against children, the government said.
“Those who commit sexual violence in conflict situations must be held to account,” Joly said. “Canada condemns in the strongest terms the use of conflict-related sexual violence, and we will continue to work with partners, such as the ICC, to end impunity for these heinous crimes.”
The government said that in order to respect the independence and impartiality of the ICC and its proceedings, the ICC’s prosecutor will decide how the new investigative resources will be allocated to specific investigations.
Ottawa said the Trust Fund supports the use of new advanced technological tools and equipment in the collection, analysis and language-processing of evidence; the provision of enhanced psychosocial and protection support to witnesses; and the enhancement of dedicated and specialized capacity with respect to investigations into crimes of sexual and gender-based violence and crimes against children.
If you have any information, story ideas or news tips for The Lawyer’s Daily, please contact Cristin Schmitz at Cristin.schmitz@lexisnexis.ca or call 613 820-2794.
See here for free access to Law360’s coverage of the war in Ukraine.