The Dominican Republic reaffirms its support to the Trust Fund for Victims through a voluntary contribution
 

The Trust Fund for Victims (TFV) at the International Criminal Court (ICC) takes great pleasure in announcing that the Dominican Republic, a State Party to the ICC since 2005, renewed its voluntary contribution to the TFV for a total amount of US Dollars 10,000. 

This unrestricted contribution will be used to redress the harm suffered by victims of Rome Statute crimes, through reparation awards ordered by the ICC and other programmes for their benefit.

Ms Minou Tavárez Mirabal, the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Trust Fund for Victims at the ICC, representing the Latin America and Caribbean States, stated, “This is the second contribution by the Dominican Republic, and even if it’s a symbolic amount, it demonstrates that there is broad consensus about the importance of victims within the Rome Statute and that the Trust Fund for Victims has legitimacy and support from all the regions. We are grateful for the Dominican Republic's endeavours to secure the contribution, and we sincerely hope that they will continue to do so in the future. We urge other nations in the region to follow our efforts."

H.E. Mr Juan Bautista Durán, Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to the Kingdom of the Netherlands stated, “The Government of the Dominican Republic, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs and President Abinader, reaffirms its unyielding commitment to the fundamental principles of the Rome Statute and to the strengthening of international criminal justice. In this regard, the country is proud to have made a contribution to the Trust Fund for Victims, a significant step in supporting victims of international crimes and promoting justice and reparations. We hope that this contribution will serve as an incentive for other nations around the world to increase their support so that the Trust Fund for Victims can fulfil its mission of providing reparations and assistance to victims of atrocity crimes under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.”

Ambassador Durán added, “I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation to Ms Minou Tavárez Mirabal, who completes her term as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Trust Fund for Victims. We feel very well represented and we are very proud that one of our nationals, who holds a recognised capacity and dedication to the defence of human rights, has served as the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Trust Fund for Victims.”

This is the second contribution by Dominican Republic provided to the Trust Fund for Victims. The first one was provided in 2023.

For more information about the Trust Fund for Victims, please contact trustfundforvictims@icc-cpi.int or visit: www.trustfundforvictims.org. You can also follow TFV’s activities on X, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

Background information

Voluntary funding received by the Trust Fund for Victims has allowed the completion of the first judicial cycle of the ICC, with the finalisation of the reparation programme for victims in the Katanga case in October 2023. Implementation of reparations programmes is ongoing in the Lubanga and Al Mahdi cases. The Trust Fund for Victims is also actively implementing reparations for one group of victims in the Ntaganda case, who are part of the Lubanga programme for former child soldiers, while preparing the reparations programme for a second group of victims of attacks in Ntaganda. Additionally, in June 2024, the TFV launched its First Ongwen Case Funding Appeal to enable the implementation of the Trial Chamber’s EUR 52.4 million Reparations Order of 28 February 2024, which seeks to benefit more than 40,000 victims. After fulfilling this first funding appeal, the Trust Fund for Victims intends to mobilise at least EUR 5 million per year to progressively implement the Ongwen Reparation Order.

In 2024-2025, the TFV is also implementing other programmes for the benefit of victims in seven situations under the jurisdiction of the ICC in the Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Georgia, Kenya, Mali and Uganda. The programmes include the provision of medical treatment, psychological rehabilitation, socio-economic support, education, peacebuilding, and commemoration activities with collaboration from local authorities and local communities. In 2023, over 23,000 individuals directly benefitted from seven programmes of the TFV.

Programmes for the benefit of victims of crimes under the jurisdiction of the ICC bridge impact of the Sustainable Development Goal 16 on peace, justice, and strong institutions (SDG 16), poverty reduction (SDG 1), good health and wellbeing (SDG3), gender equality (SDG 5), decent work and economic growth (SDG8), climate action (SDG 13) and reduced inequalities (SDG 10). 

The Trust Fund for Victims at the ICC contributes to realising the pillars of reparative justice of the Rome Statute through measures that recognise and redress the harm of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression on victims and their families.