MacArthur has announced grants totaling more than $1.5 million in support of efforts to help establish the International Criminal Court (ICC).
These grants were made through the Foundation's Global Challenges area, which addresses international human rights issues and explores how the benefits of economic globalization may be equitably distributed. Among its priorities is the development of a strong international justice system capable of protecting the rights of all people regardless of national origin.
"The International Criminal Court is the cornerstone of an emerging international system of justice that will give future Pinochets and Idi Amins no place to hide," said Jonathan F. Fanton, President of MacArthur. "But there is hard work to do to get the Court off to a sure start - the selection of judges and prosecutors must be at a high standard, good first cases need to be prepared, and laws of ratifying countries need to be aligned with international standards. MacArthur is committed to helping this important new institution take root."
Recent grants designed to advance the institutionalization of the International Criminal Court include the following:
An award of $750,000 was made to the Coalition for an International Criminal Court, a group of more than 1,000 nongovernmental organizations, to help coordinate the activities of member organizations participating in ICC-related events, to gather and disseminate information throughout the Coalition about the progress of the Court, and to help ensure nongovernmental input into the development and start-up of the ICC.
DePaul University's International Human Rights Law Institute received a grant of $300,000 over two years to work with ICC signatory States in the Arab League on efforts to align their national criminal legal systems with ICC treaty obligations. A separate grant of $150,000 was awarded to the Human Rights Law Institute to facilitate the participation of the world's least developed countries in ICC activities.
A grant of $225,000 over two years was made to the Center on International Cooperation at New York University in support of its project on international courts and tribunals. The project seeks to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas among international courts and tribunals with the aim of bringing about effective, equitable, and efficient delivery of international justice.
The Women's Caucus for Gender Justice received a grant of $100,000 for its work to ensure that issues relating to gender continue to be addressed in the development of the International Criminal Court. The Women's Caucus will also continue to work to strengthen awareness among women's rights advocacy groups about the Court as a potential mechanism to help ensure the fair and effective investigation and prosecution of crimes of sexual and gender violence.
In addition to its support for an international justice system, the Foundation's human rights grantmaking also supports U.S.-based human rights anchor institutions that provide structure to the field as well as networks of human rights organizations in three countries where MacArthur has offices - Russia, Nigeria, and Mexico.
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