Regulations and amounts vary widely around the world

adminonDecember 22, 2021January 5, 2022Leave a Comment

Regulations and amounts vary widely around the world

Justice for victims of abuse © r.classen (shutterstock)

The debate about a compensation procedure for victims of sexual violence by clergy in the Catholic Church is in full swing. What do similar arrangements look like in other countries around the world?

Austria

Austrian bishops already ied a compensation scheme for abuse victims in June 2010. According to the agreement, the "Victim Protection Foundation" is to pay graduated compensation depending on the severity of the assaults suffered. The amounts range from 5.000 and 25.000 euros.

Ireland

Since 2002, victims of physical abuse or sexual abuse in Ireland's state and church institutions have been compensated in an organized way. The Residential Institutions Redress Board administers the funds provided by the state and church institutions and regulates their distribution. In total, the state and church have provided 2.1 billion.

After an assessment, depending on the severity of the mistreatment or abuse, applicants receive a maximum of 300.000 euros in compensation.

By 2010, 14.753 claims filed; majority of victims awarded up to 100.000 euros in compensation.

USA

In the United States, abuse victims have more extensive options for civil court actions for damages than in other countries. U.S. dioceses and orders have paid more than $2 billion in damages to victims to date. Several dioceses filed for protection from creditors because they were unable to meet the victims' claims for compensation.

By the end of 2010, seven dioceses and the Jesuit order in Oregon had declared insolvency, including Davenport in Iowa, Fairbanks in Alaska, Portland in Oregon, San Diego in California, Spokane in Washington, Tucson in Arizona, Wilmington in Delaware, and Milwaukee in Wisconsin. According to its own figures, the Archdiocese of Chicago alone has paid out around 200 million dollars to victims of abuse since 2000.

Canada

1.9 billion Canadian dollars (about 1.45 billion euros) have been set aside as compensation for victims. At the same time, the establishment of the "Truth and Reconciliation Commission" was approved.

Australia

In accordance with the recommendations of the National Abuse Commission, the legal basis for a national compensation fund was created in Australia, to which a good 90 percent of all Catholic dioceses and parishes have now acceded. It is estimated that payments to around 60.000 victims of abuse, the equivalent of 2.5 billion euros will be needed. The Catholic Church has to bear about 645 million euros of these costs.

The International Criminal Court has found former Congolese rebel leader Thomas Lubanga guilty of war crimes. He recruited hundreds of children as soldiers and used them in fighting during the 2002-2003 conflict in Congo, judges ruled Wednesday in The Hague. It is the first verdict from the International Criminal Court, which began its work ten years ago.

In its first trial, the International Criminal Court has found former Congolese rebel leader Thomas Lubanga guilty of war crimes. The 51-year-old, along with others in the armed conflict in eastern Congo in 2002 and 2003, recruited children under 15 as soldiers and used them in fighting, the three judges ruled unanimously Wednesday in The Hague. The verdict could set international standards.

The sentence will be determined after another hearing. Maximum sentence is life in prison. The court found the Congolese guilty on all three counts of using child soldiers. "Lubanga, as president and chief commander, was actively involved and responsible for this," said presiding Judge Adrian Fulford. 'He also personally used children as bodyguards'."

Lubanga, dressed in a white African robe, received the verdict with a deadpan face. Lubanga has always denied his guilt. The court will also decide on compensation for the victims at a later date. Defense may appeal verdict.

Kidnapped child
Lubanga was founder and president of the rebel movement Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) and commander-in-chief of the UPC militia Patriotic Forces for the Liberation of Congo. Judges say it has been proven beyond doubt that UPC militia sought to seize power in northern Congo's Ituri province and also systematically used children in military combat. Boys and girls under 15 were recruited or forced to fight, she said.

Witnesses, including former child soldiers, had testified that Lubanga's militia had taken children from their homes, schools, and soccer fields to military camps. Many were forced to fight with violence and drugs, they said. "Girls were also sexually abused and raped by commanders and soldiers," Judge Fulford said. He pointed out that Lubanga had not been charged with sexual violence. An estimated 30 are believed to have been involved in the fighting in Congo.000 child soldiers may have been involved.

Human rights activists hailed the verdict as a strong signal against the use of children in armed conflict. "This is a turning point in the fight against impunity for humanity's most serious crimes," said William Pace, coordinator of the Global Coalition, a network of more than 2.500 non-governmental organizations. Human rights organizations in Congo spoke of a "victory for justice and human dignity". Among the spectators was the American actress Angelina Jolie, who is campaigning for help for child soldiers. "This is the day of these children," she said.

Saved from failure
Lubanga had been arrested and transferred to the court in The Hague in 2006, and the trial began in 2009. Congo had referred the case to the Hague court itself. The court heard a total of 63 witnesses. 129 victims participated as joint plaintiffs. A total of 1.373 pieces of evidence presented. Due to procedural ies, the trial had been suspended twice for months and threatened to fail.

The judges also blamed the prosecution for the delay. Chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo had not initially made all the evidence available to the defense. Judges had also rejected some witnesses as untrustworthy.

The criminal court began its work ten years ago. Tribunal is first permanent world court to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Investigations are currently underway on seven countries: Uganda, Congo, Central African Republic, Darfur (Sudan), Kenya, Libya and Ivory Coast. The judges ied 23 arrest warrants, including one against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.

Holocaust Memorial in Berlin © CBA

Today, it is a tourist magnet that attracts some two million visitors a year: The Holocaust Memorial in Berlin, which opened ten years ago. The project was in danger of failing more than once.

Michelle Obama was there with her daughters, and a few weeks ago, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras also visited the memorial. And for almost every "normal" Berlin tourist it is a "must": The memorial commemorating the murder of the Jews of Europe in Berlin-Mitte. Ten years ago, on 10. May 2005, the field of stelae was inaugurated.

Appreciations from political representatives

Representatives of the federal government and the Bundestag acknowledged the importance of the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin for the culture of remembrance. "In the heart of Berlin, in the middle of the parliamentary and government district, right next to the Brandenburg Gate, the Holocaust Memorial commemorates the unbearable crimes committed against the Jews of Europe in the name of the German people," said Minister of State for Culture Monika Grutters (CDU) on Thursday at a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the Holocaust. Anniversary of the handover of the memorial to the public. The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe is the central Holocaust memorial in Germany.

Bundestag President Norbert Lammert (CDU) emphasized that the Holocaust Memorial, together with the underground "Place of Information," should remind all future generations never to touch human rights again. He said the memorial was the "expression in stone" for the Germans to adhere to this self-commitment.

Two million visitors a year

Whoever goes to the Brandenburg Gate usually also comes to the Holocaust Memorial, that is the experience of the Memorial Foundation. According to their figures, around two million people visit the memorial each year. The associated, underground "Place of Information" also has half a million visitors. The memorial was designed by the U.S. architect Peter Eisenman.

Years of dispute over erection

Eisenman confessed at the opening that for him it was almost a miracle that the memorial with its 2.711 concrete steles were actually built. In fact, there had been disputes for years about the meaning of the project, about an appropriate place and the concrete execution. Several times the project was on the brink of collapse.

The impetus for the project, which has now been realized on an area three times the size of a soccer field, came as early as 1988 from a circle around the publicist Lea Rosh. Among the supporters were former German Chancellor Willy Brandt and author Gunter Grass. In the 1990s, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the relocation of parliament and government to Berlin led to the memorial project becoming the subject of a fundamental debate about the Germans' self-image at the end of the 20th century. The memorial was erected to mark the end of the twentieth century and the way it dealt with the Holocaust.

In 1999, the Bundestag finally decided to build. At the same time, he took up the suggestion of Michael Naumann (SPD), then Minister of State for Culture, to add an underground "place of information" to the field of stelae. There, visitors will find facts about the background to the murder of more than six million European Jews by the Nazis.

Costs higher than estimated

At the same time, the estimated costs grew to 27.6 million euros, double the original plans. Again and again, the start of construction had to be postponed: For example, there were security concerns about the U.S. Embassy, which was built in the immediate vicinity.

The project was also brought to the brink of failure by the involvement of the company Degussa, because one of its subsidiaries had produced the poison gas for the concentration camps during World War II. The fact that it was to provide graffiti protection for the stelae led to international protests, but was eventually accepted.

Finally, the then Bundestag President Wolfgang Thierse and the President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Paul Spiegel, were able to dedicate the memorial on 10. May 2005 inauguration.

Cracks in the concrete

Alongside much approval, there are still critical voices as well. Foundation director Uwe Neumarker never tires of emphasizing that these should not be silenced either. It is important that no one is left cold. "The memorial is not intended to be a stony conclusion."

Graffiti on the steles is now less common than it used to be. Even as a climbing park, the memorial is now obviously less attractive for children and young people. But one serious problem remains: Already after the first winters, cracks appeared in the concrete bodies, which have to be repaired again and again. A process to clarify responsibilities is underway. Meanwhile, according to the foundation, almost every stele is affected. The success of the memorial, however, could not be affected by this damage, Eisenman emphasized. Everyone knows that the material works.

The foundation, which is now also responsible for the memorial to the murdered homosexuals, the memorial to the murdered Sinti and Roma, and the memorial to the victims of euthanasia, hopes that the procedure will soon be completed and that the question of costs will also be settled.

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