Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 17 December 2013

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade

Role and Functions: Discussion with International Criminal Court

11:10 am

Photo of Olivia MitchellOlivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mrs. Bensouda and thank her for giving us her time this morning. I have just one area to question. At the G8 meeting earlier this year, the leaders confirmed that sexual crimes against women and girls were crimes against humanity. They affirmed their determination to pursue such crimes. More recently in London, a lot of other countries signed up and gave similar commitments, as did many international agencies.

In the past, the tendency has been to ignore such crimes. It is easy to ignore such crimes post-conflict, perhaps because the greater good of peace and reconciliation is seen as being more important. The result is that people feel immune from prosecution and have been in the past. I know it is impossible to pursue all the individual cases. However, the leaders not just permitted but encouraged it as a weapon of war and also as a way of maintaining the loyalty of their troops. I wonder if such cases end up on Mrs. Bensouda's desk and, if so, what are the difficulties in pursuing them?

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