2015-2016 War Crimes Speaker Series
20th Anniversary Conference on Prosecuting Serious International Crimes: Exploring the Intersections between International and Domestic Justice Efforts
On March 30th, 2016, the WCRO hosted the conference on Prosecuting Serious International Crimes: Exploring the Intersections between International and Domestic Justice Efforts, in celebration of the 20th anniversary of our founding. The principle goal of the conference was to broaden the conversation about effective accountability mechanisms by bringing together practitioners, experts, and academics from both the international justice and rule of law fields, two communities that hold a shared interest in increased accountability for serious crimes but have had little opportunity to exchange, debate, or collaborate on practical strategies designed to strengthen domestic systems’ ability to investigate and prosecute serious crimes.
34 speakers participated in the conference, including former Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice Stephen Rapp; International Center for Transitional Justice President David Tolbert; Senior Trial Lawyer at the International Criminal Court Anton Steynberg; former Norwegian Public Prosecutor of Organized and Other Serious Crimes Siri Frigaard; former Guatemalan Attorney General Claudia Paz y Paz; and American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative Director Elizabeth Andersen. The keynote was delivered by International Center for Transitional Justice President David Tolbert, who discussed the effect of political situations in the prosecution of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the complex role of hybrid courts in supporting the credibility of national systems and capacity-building efforts.
The American Red Cross, the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative, PluriCourts of the University of Oslo, and the American Society of International Law cosponsored the conference, which was attended by 176 people, WCL’s largest event this year aside from the Tenley Campus ribbon cutting. Over 150 people viewed the conference via a livestream provided by the American Red Cross.
A Discussion on the Trust Fund for Victims at the International Criminal Court
On October 26th, the WCRO hosted Elisabeth Rehn, member and former Chair of the Board of the Trust Fund for Victims at the International Criminal Court. Ms. Rehn also serves as a member of the High Level Advisory Group for the Global Review on UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and is a former Minister of Defense of Finland. Her remarks focused primarily on the Trust Fund and its role in working with survivors of conflict, and were followed by a question and answer session with students.