Chapter

The rights of victims of serious violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law : a human rights perspective

Cécile Aptel

The International Criminal Court and Africa : one decade on

Cambridge [etc.] : Intersentia, 2016

p. 401-417

English

Bibliographie : p. 414-417

This chapter examines the emergence and consolidation of the rights of victims of gross violations of international human rights law and serious violations of international humanitarian law under international law and the role of national and international courts in realising them. First, it sets out the definition and sources of these rights. It then briefly surveys the obligations incumbent on states to uphold them, before exploring how the International Criminal Court also constitutes an avenue, albeit a limited one, through which the rights of victims of such violations can be given effect. It emphasises that states have the primary obligation to investigate and prosecute those responsible for international crimes, and that failure to do so does not relieve them of responsibility under international human rights law, even when other courts, such as the ICC, do step in and exercise their jurisdiction. It also argues that, due to its limited jurisdiction and resources, the ICC can fill the impunity gap left by states with regards to only a small number of cases. Therefore, many victims are left without a forum where they can see and be granted a remedy.

• The International Criminal Court and Africa : one decade on / ed. by Evelyn A. Ankumah