International Justice

Norng Chan Phal, who survived internment at the Tuol Sleng prison known as S-21 as a child, looks at portraits of victims of the Khmer Rouge regime displayed at Tuol Sleng genocide museum in Phnom Penh on September 2, 2020.

Crimes of Omission: Why a UN Treaty on Genocide but Not on Crimes Against Humanity?

It is a matter of historical curiosity, and it's time for the UN to reunite genocide with its genus by concluding a parallel treaty.

Sep. 21, 2021 Payam Akhavan

Syrian defendant Eyad al-Gharib, accused of crimes against humanity in the first trial of its kind to emerge from the Syrian conflict, arrives to hear his verdict in the court room on February 24, 2021 in Koblenz, western Germany. He holds up a document or folder to hide his face as two officers in bullet proof vests touch him and move him forward.

Striking the Right Balance for a Draft Convention on Crimes against Humanity

A successful treaty will prompt States to adopt stronger national laws and cooperate with each other to stop atrocities.

Sep. 17, 2021 Sean Murphy

Norng Chan Phal, who survived internment at the Tuol Sleng prison known as S-21 as a child, looks at skulls displayed at the Tuol Sleng genocide museum in Phnom Penh on September 2, 2020.

As the Draft Crimes Against Humanity Treaty Moves Forward, a View on How It Relates to the Rome Statute for the ICC

Crimes against humanity is the only international crime not governed by its own treaty. It's time to formally recognize such heinous conduct.

Sep. 15, 2021 Justice Richard Goldstone

A view of the room where the session is held at International Court Of Justice on January 23, 2020 in The Hague, Netherlands. The judges sit in a room at the front of the room. People fill the rest of the seats in the room.

Towards a New Treaty on Crimes Against Humanity: Next Steps

Such a convention could dispel the notion that only genocide deserves international sanction and attention.

Sep. 13, 2021 Leila Nadya Sadat

Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Karim Asad Ahmad Khan holds a press conference at the Ministry of Justice in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on August 12, 2021.

The International Criminal Court and Afghanistan

Here's how the ICC can advance justice in Afghanistan despite the Taliban takeover.

Sep. 3, 2021 Andrew Hilland and Catherine Gilfedder

To Strengthen the ICC Office of the Prosecutor, Karim Khan is On the Right Path

Justice Richard Goldstone, a former international prosecutor says the changes will make it more efficient, results-oriented, and accountable.

Aug. 25, 2021 Justice Richard Goldstone

Former chief prosecutor Benjamin Ferencz addresses guests during the inauguration of the new information and documentation center "Memorial Nuremberg Trials", in Nuremberg, southern Germany, on November 21, 2010.

Nuremberg Prosecutor says Guantanamo Military Commissions Don’t Measure Up

In an upcoming filing, the last living Nuremberg prosecutor, Benjamin B. Ferencz, says there is "very limited comparison" between the Guantanamo military commissions and the Nuremberg…

Aug. 24, 2021 Alka Pradhan and Scott Roehm

Investigators search for evidence in and around the wreckage of a Police bus at the site of a bomb blast in Kabul, 17 June 2007.

Evidence Destruction and the Crisis In Afghanistan

Evidence of international crimes is at risk in Afghanistan - endangering witnesses, victims, and the pursuit of justice. The international community must take steps to secure it.

Aug. 20, 2021 Nema Milaninia

Bosnian Muslim women, family members of victims of Srebrenica 1995 massacre, gather prior to the burial ceremony of caskets with body remains of their relatives at the memorial cemetery in village of Potocari, near Eastern-Bosnian town of Srebrenica, on July 11, 2021.

Deceptive Report Escalates Srebrenica Genocide Denial Campaign

It now becomes a permanent part of the brazen refusal by Bosnia's Serb authorities to own up to the atrocities committed in their name.

Jul. 29, 2021 Menachem Z. Rosensaft

A group of Asian women who sex trafficked into brothels set up by the Japanese military during World War II protest in front of the Japanese Embassy 18 September, 2000, in Washington DC, demanding an apology for their enslavement. Their signs read, “Sex slavery = crime;” “Japan where is your conscience;” “200,000 women enslaved;” and more.

Japan Cannot Claim Sovereign Immunity and Also Insist that WWII Sexual Slavery was Private Contractual Acts

In South Korea, two conflicting decisions by the Seoul Central District Court are testing the limited exceptions to sovereign immunity in a historic case of sexual violence in…

Jul. 20, 2021 Dr. Ethan Hee-Seok Shin and Stephanie Minyoung Lee

Iranian President-Elect Ebrahim Raisi holds a press conference at Shahid Beheshti conference hall on June 21, 2021 in Tehran, Iran.

Will Iran’s New President be Held Accountable?

Raisi was directly involved in the summary execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988. Is there a path to justice today?

Jul. 8, 2021 Gissou Nia

Onlookers, including children, stand next to the backpacks and books of victims following yesterday's multiple blasts outside a girls' school in Dasht-e-Barchi on the outskirts of Kabul on May 9, 2021.

As Troops Withdraw from Afghanistan, the UN Needs to Act

It is time for the U.N. Human Rights Council to establish an independent international investigation into human rights atrocities in Afghanistan.

Jul. 7, 2021 Hanny Megally, Chris Sidoti and 1 more