2018-2019 War Crimes Speaker Series
Myanmar and Accountability for Grave Crimes
On April 10, 2019, the WCRO hosted, along with the Global Justice Center and Human Rights Watch, a panel discussion on accountability for grave crimes committed in the context of the Rohingya genocide in Myanmar. The discussion focused on the gendered nature in which the atrocities were perpetrated, and explored options for justice outside of Myanmar’s domestic courts, where accountability is unlikely. WCRO Director Susana SáCouto moderated the panel, which also featured remarks from former U.S. Ambassador-at-large for War Crimes Issues Stephen Rapp; Akila Radhakrishnan, President of the Global Justice Center; Param-Preet Singh, Associate Director in the International Justice Program at Human Rights Watch; and Naomi Kikoler, Deputy Director of the Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
The Prosecutors Film Screening & Panel Discussion
On March 20, 2019, the WCRO and the Ferencz International Justice Initiative of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum hosted a screening of the documentary film The Prosecutors, which tells the story of three lawyers fighting to hold perpetrators of sexual violence in conflict accountable in their own justice systems. The event featured remarks by Ambassador Kelley Currie of the U.S. Department of State Office of Global Criminal Justice, as well as a panel discussion with WCRO Director Susana SáCouto, Ferencz Initiative Director Anna Cave, and the film’s director, Leslie Thomas.
Wartime Sexual Violence in El Salvador: The El Mozote Case
On March 18, 2019, the WCRO cosponsored a panel on “Wartime Sexual Violence in El Salvador: The El Mozote Case” along with the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, the Due Process of Law Foundation (DPLF), and Cristosal. The panel discussion followed the submission of an amicus brief by WCRO Director Susana SáCouto and Academy Co-Director Claudia Martin before the Court of First Instance hearing the case in El Salvador last August, which developed arguments that could be used to effectively investigate sexual violence crimes in the case. The panel included Professors SáCouto and Martin, as well as DPLF Senior Program Officer Leonor Artiga and Cristosal Executive Director Noah Bullock.
Evidence at the Khmer Rouge Trials
On February 27, 2019, the WCRO hosted Andrew Boyle, a former prosecutor at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, for a discussion on “Evidence at the Khmer Rouge Trials.” Mr. Boyle was a prosecutor at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia for seven years, where he prosecuted senior leaders of the Khmer Rouge for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. His remarks focused on different types of evidence used in the trials, and some of the challenges they pose.
Gender & the Practice of International Criminal Law
On February 5, 2019, the WCRO cosponsored a lunch discussion with the Women & the Law Program on “Gender & the Practice of International Law”. The purpose of the event was to educate students on the intersection of gender with the practical application of international criminal law. The panel included WCRO Director Susana SáCouto; Anna Cave, Director of the Ferencz International Justice Initiative at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum; and Liz Evenson, Associate Director of the International Justice Program at Human Rights Watch.