Professor Jane E. Stromseth — former deputy to the ambassador for the Office of Global Criminal Justice — led several former U.S. ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues in a discussion on the U.S. role in advancing accountability for international atrocity crimes. Stromseth later appeared on a panel assessing the role and impact of the International Criminal Court (ICC), moderated by Professor David Luban.

Hassan Bubacar Jallow, Chief Justice of The Gambia, traveled from West Africa to speak of the successes and challenges of international criminal tribunals such as those for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. Jallow is the former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and former chief prosecutor of the UN Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals.

Jallow noted that the past two decades have been fairly successful ones in the global effort to ensure accountability for international atrocities — noting the contribution of tribunals to the restoration of the rule of law. The tribunals’ capacity is limited, he admitted, and they have been criticized as slow and expensive.

Since not all countries have ratified the Rome Statute establishing the ICC, the reach of that court’s jurisdiction remains constrained. Jallow also stressed the importance of complementary domestic efforts to secure accountability and the role of the international community in supporting such initiatives.

Yet despite some challenges, “the struggle against impunity has been significantly enhanced by global tribunals,” he noted. “International criminal justice, we can see, is here to stay.”

The Samuel Dash Conference on Human Rights was established to honor the human rights legacy of the late Georgetown Law Professor Sam Dash. The 2017 event was co-sponsored by the Georgetown Journal of International Law and the Human Rights Institute.What is the status of international criminal justice today? How might current U.S. leadership impact human rights? The 2017 Samuel Dash Conference on Human Rights, “Global Criminal Justice: Accomplishments, Challenges, and Future Directions” at Georgetown Law on April 3 examined the most critical questions.

Professor Jane E. Stromseth — former deputy to the ambassador for the Office of Global Criminal Justice — led several former U.S. ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues in a discussion on the U.S. role in advancing accountability for international atrocity crimes. Stromseth later appeared on a panel assessing the role and impact of the International Criminal Court (ICC), moderated by Professor David Luban.

Hassan Bubacar Jallow, Chief Justice of The Gambia, traveled from West Africa to speak of the successes and challenges of international criminal tribunals such as those for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. Jallow is the former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and former chief prosecutor of the UN Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals.

Jallow noted that the past two decades have been fairly successful ones in the global effort to ensure accountability for international atrocities — noting the contribution of tribunals to the restoration of the rule of law. The tribunals’ capacity is limited, he admitted, and they have been criticized as slow and expensive.

Since not all countries have ratified the Rome Statute establishing the ICC, the reach of that court’s jurisdiction remains constrained. Jallow also stressed the importance of complementary domestic efforts to secure accountability and the role of the international community in supporting such initiatives.

Yet despite some challenges, “the struggle against impunity has been significantly enhanced by global tribunals,” he noted. “International criminal justice, we can see, is here to stay.”

The Samuel Dash Conference on Human Rights was established to honor the human rights legacy of the late Georgetown Law Professor Sam Dash. The 2017 event was co-sponsored by the Georgetown Journal of International Law and the Human Rights Institute.