protection and redress for victims of crime and human rights violations

Chapter 15 • Protection and Redress for Victims of Crime and Human Rights Violationsdistinction between victims of crime and human rights violations is not alwaysclear-cut, but it serves as a convenient point of departure for the presentation of thelegal problems dealt with in this chapter.That being said, it is important to bear in mind throughout this chapter that tosome extent victims of crime and human rights violations have many interests andneeds in common, such as a possible need for medical attention, including help foremotional problems, compensation for financial loss and various forms of specialprotection and/or assistance. The principles dealt with below in relation to victims ofcrime and human rights violations can thus be viewed as mutually reinforcing wheneveran assessment must be made of the victim’s needs and the adequate response by societyto those needs.It should further be noted that it is impossible, within such a limitedframework, to provide a comprehensive account and analysis of the needs of victims ofcrime and human rights violations, and the response to the victims, including theestablishment of victims’ programmes. As increased attention has been focused onvictims’ rights in recent years, much research has been carried out that can provide helpand stimulation to legal practitioners and to social workers and other professionalgroups who may be called upon to assist victims of crime and human rights violations inrecovering from the negative effects of unlawful acts. For suggested reading on thisissue, see Handout No. 1.*****The first part of this chapter will deal with protection and redress for victimsof crime. As will be seen, however, international law does not regulate in detail thequestion of protection and redress for victims of ordinary crime, although attemptshave been made to increase the focus on the plight of victims so as to encourageGovernments to provide them with adequate help and support. The chapter will reviewthe limited rules that do exist in the hope that it may inspire further discussion of theproblems facing victims of crime, the main purpose being to increase participants’awareness of the importance of paying due attention to their feelings, needs andinterests at all stages of the judicial process.It should furthermore be pointed out that conventional crimes cover not onlymore traditional crimes such as ill-treatment, murder, trafficking, sexual and otherabuses, theft, burglary and so forth, but also various kinds of organized crime andcorruption, as well as, for instance, the relatively new category of cybercrimes. 1 On theother hand, it will not be possible to deal in detail with the various interests thatdifferent categories of victims have or may have, and the chapter will therefore dealonly, in relatively general terms, with the problems of victims of crime.1 For an international treaty on this issue, see Convention on Cybercrime (ETS No. 185) signed in Budapest on 23 November2001. The Convention is open for signature by the member States of the Council of Europe and non-member States that participatedin its elaboration, and is open for accession by other non-member States. It requires 5 ratifications including at least 3 member Statesof the Council of Europe in order to enter into force. As of 23 June 2002, only Albania had ratified the Convention; seehttp://conventions.coe.int752 Human Rights in the Administration of Justice: A Manual on Human Rights for Judges, Prosecutors and Lawyers