Advancing gender justice in the Rome Statute system

In this year of celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Rome Statute, International Women’s Day reminds us of the great strides that were made in strengthening women’s rights when the Rome Statute was adopted.  

As one of the first international treaties to extensively address crimes against women as crimes against humanity, war crimes and, in some cases, genocide, the Rome Statute created a permanent legal framework that gives victims and survivors of sexual and gender-based crimes continued reason to hope.

The Statute also created a standard for international justice when it comes to protection for victims and witnesses (especially victims of sexual and gender-based crimes), gender balance on its judicial bench and among its elected officials, and other provisions such as requiring that relevant Court organs have staff with expertise in gender issues.

Moreover, the Rome Statute’s catalytic effect at the national level means that if a state ratifies the Statute and incorporates, for example, its far-reaching SGBV provisions into domestic legislation, these crimes can be prosecuted by national courts. There is real potential here for such a shift in domestic legal culture to promote gender equality more broadly by strengthening women’s rights and increasing their access to justice.