International Criminal Court (Victims Fund)

Tuesday 12th February 2013 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr William Hague)]

I can announce today that the UK will contribute an additional £500,000 to the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) Trust Fund for Victims. This is in addition to two previous donations I announced in April 2011 and July 2012, amounting to £1 million. This brings the total UK support to the ICC Trust Fund for Victims since 2011 to £1.5 million. We believe the Trust Fund for Victims (TFV) is doing excellent work in supporting victims of sexual and gender-based violence during conflict. The TFV was established by the states parties of the ICC in 2002 to benefit the victims of crimes within the Court’s jurisdiction. It is entirely funded by voluntary donations. The focus of its work so far has been in northern Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where its project work provides assistance to the victims of the most serious crimes, including torture and sexual violence. It is making an important difference in helping the victims of serious crimes rebuild their lives. The Government are calling upon G8 countries for similar support to initiatives such as the TFV to help alleviate the significant suffering caused by these horrific acts of violence and take action to prevent these crimes from occurring.