Clause 49 - Power to make provision for enforcement of other orders
International Criminal Court Bill [Lords]
11:15 am
Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham, Conservative)
I am grateful for that intervention. I do not complain about access. However, the Minister has still not satisfied some of their concerns. I therefore feel justified in putting their concerns on the record. Indeed, it seems that no one else will speak for them, so I am obliged to put forward what I believe are sensible recommendations. I know that they have urged the Government to refer explicitly in the Bill to the future of the UN trust fund. They believe that the financial assets of the convicted perpetrator will often not be enough to met the compensation needs of victims and their families.
The Canadian Government have already created such a fund in the context of the ICC. If Canada can do it, why cannot we? If Canada can do it, why cannot we? The Medical Foundation and others certainly believe that the Government should do something similar. Even if the Minister does not want to create a separate British trust fund, the Bill should at least refer to the international fund and to article 79. There should certainly have been an indication of our intention to contribute to such a fund, because the finances are unclear.
It is not only the Medical Foundation that has voiced concerns. Amnesty International's copious and detailed notes on the ICC state:
``The ICC can also award compensation to victims from a special Trust Fund. Canada's implementing legislation provides for a national Crimes Against Humanity Fund. This will receive money obtained through enforcement of ICC orders and voluntary donations. Canada's Attorney General is empowered to make payments from this Fund to the ICC's Trust Fund, to victims and to their families. We are disappointed that the UK Government has not followed this positive example.''
This is not the first time that the matter has been raised with the Government; it was raised throughout the consultation process, although I felt that that process was short and rushed, and it resulted in a fairly scrappy document being prepared for January 2001. There is only a small reference to the issue in the discussion of clause 46. Paragraph 64 deals with the Government's response and states:
``The criminal injuries compensation scheme would also apply if the crimes of violence were committed in the UK. In view of the domestic mechanisms already in place, the Government sees no practical benefit in creating a domestic ICC Trust Fund.''
That is not in the spirit of the negotiations, the fund's inclusion in the originating statute or the way in which organisations carried out their lobbying. I hope that the Minister will not be as brief as the Government were in their response to the consultation process.
The proposed Scottish legislation is also silent on the fund. It would be helpful if the Minister could lay out the position in Scotland as regards the trust fund and reparations and explain how that will dovetail with the existing provisions.
I will not be present for what I trust will be the substantive part of the Minister's response, although he might get a couple of minutes if I sit down now. However, my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Harborough will pursue the matter. If the Minister does not satisfy us, we might need to put the matter to a vote.
I am glad to have had the opportunity to speak about this issue on behalf of the Medical Foundation and others who have found that their requests have fallen on deaf ears, despite consultation with the Minister. I understand that he might be hidebound and unable to alter the Bill because of his riding orders, but he should examine the issue seriously, particularly in the light of the well-meaning and reasonable representations that have been made to the Government.