child abuse chie maekoya1

INTERVICT
International Victimology Institute Tilburg

The Draft UN
Convention on
Justice and Support
for Victims of Crime
Prof.dr. Marc Groenhuijsen
July 21, 2011
Lecture to the 11th Asian Post Graduate
Course on Victimology and Victim Assistance,
Jakarta, Indonesia

Topics in this presentation

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1. Very brief overview of UN Declaration & implementation

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2. - Arguments pro & con UN Convention
- Content of Draft Convention

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3. The next steps & controversial issues

Summary of Declaration

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As prof. Sam Garkawe explained this morning, according to
the Declaration, victims have the right to:

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-be treated with respect and recognition
-receive information
-allow their views to be presented and considered
-proper assistance throughout the legal process
-protection of privacy and physical safety
-informal dispute resolution (including mediation)
-social assistance
-State compensation

Implementation of UN Declaration

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1989

GA ‘plan of action’ & Ecosoc resolution 1989/57

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1994

Questionnaire

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1997

Manual of the use and application of the Declaration

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1997

Guide for policy makers

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- general conclusion: implementation is still unsatisfactory

Arguments in favour of a UN Convention

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increase visibility of victims’ issues

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‘hard law’ puts more pressure on governments

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Courts will take it more seriously

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provides a framework for analyses (benchmark)

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ratification process & motivation

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status of Declaration has been diminished

Arguments opposing a Convention

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standstill during negotiations

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risk of watered down provisions
(i.e. compromise solutions)

First draft and follow up

December 2005
UN Convention on Justice and Support for Victims of Crime
and Abuse of Power
- www.tilburguniversity.nl/intervict/undeclaration
- www.worldsocietyofvictimology.org/index.html
February 2008
Conference at TIVI
- improved draft Convention
(book: Raising the Global Standards for Victims)

Content of the Draft

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Preamble and 25 articles, divided into four parts

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Part 1 General considerations (art. 1-4)
Part 2 rights and duties (art. 5-11)
Part 3 implementation, monitoring & cooperation (art. 12-16)
Part 4 concluding provisions (art. 17-25)

1st improvement

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Special justice and support for “particularly
vulnerable victims” (art. 3)

Inspired by ‘differential victimology’
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age, gender, disability
type of crime
circumstances of the case

personal characteristics

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Risk assessment models (PTSD/repeats/victim support)

2nd improvement

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Extensive discussion of crime prevention (art. 4, deleted from
later drafts)

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Protection from repeat victimization
(14% of victims suffer from 70% of crimes; Farrell 1992)

3rd improvement

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Access to justice (art. 5):
Examples:

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- allowing the views and concerns of victims to be presented
and considered at appropriate stages
-Judicial review of decision not to prosecute a case
(superior to the traditional remedy of private prosecution and
alternatives like administrative review withing the
prosecution service)

4th improvement

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Restitution

Declaration:
- offenders should make fair restitution
- consider restitution as sentencing option

Draft Convention:
- ensuring enforcement of any order granting awards

5th improvement

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Right to receive information (art. 7)
- long list of items
- release of the person prosecuted or sentenced
- opt out procedure

6th improvement

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More sophisticated provisions on ‘assistance’ (art. 8)

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Establish local and regional victim assistance centers

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Facilitate referral of victims by the police

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Distinguish between:
-immediate assistance
-medium term assistance
-long term assistance

7th improvement

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Restorative justice (art. 9):
(1) State parties shall endeavor, where appropriate to establish
or enhance systems of restorative justice, that seek to represent
victims’ interests as a priority. States shall emphisize the need
for acceptance by the offender of his or her responsibility for the
offence and the acknowledgement of the adverse consequences
of the offence for the victim in the form of a sincere apology.
(2) State Parties shall ensure that victims shall have the
opportunity to choose or not to choose restorative justice
forums under domestic laws, and if they do decide to choose
such forums, these mechanisms must accord with victims’
dignity, compassion and similar rights and services to those
described in this Convention.

Restorative justice continued

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The real challenge:
-maximizing potential benefits while minimizing potential risks

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Examples:
-full policy of free consent
-limits to confidentiality
-avoiding insincere apologies

8th improvement

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Implementation (including cooperation and training)
& monitoring (including periodical review of legislation)

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Committee of Justice and Support for Victims of Crime and
Abuse of Power

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-composition of the Committee (10 experts)
-the fact finding process (reports, requests for further
information, on-site visits to assess progress)

The next steps

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Commission meetings 2006-2011

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Twelfth Congress in 2010 (Salvador, Brazil)

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Seek support from EU?
& add human rights dimension to criminal justice dimension
(Vienna & Geneva)
& support initiatives for Conventions dealing with specific
subgroups of victims

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Controversial issues

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1. Definition of ‘victim’ (of ‘abuse of power’)
2. Art. 4 on crime prevention
3. Art. 5.2(e) to appeal a prosecutorial decision
4. Specific provision for police behavior
5. Separate section of definitions (e.g. reparation, restitution,
restorative justice)
6. Cross-border victimisation
7. Power of the committee to make on-site visits
8. Remedies in cases of violations of victims’ rights