Congo: The UN Mapping Report and
the Responsibility to Justice
A Special Event in Collaboration with
The African Studies Program at SAIS
Thursday, December 2, 2010
9:30-11:30 am
At
Johns Hopkins SAIS
Nitze Building, Kenny Auditorium
1740 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington, D.C. 20036
the Responsibility to Justice
A Special Event in Collaboration with
The African Studies Program at SAIS
Thursday, December 2, 2010
9:30-11:30 am
At
Johns Hopkins SAIS
Nitze Building, Kenny Auditorium
1740 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington, D.C. 20036
Forum Details:
On October 1, 2010, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights published a report mapping the most serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed in the Democratic Republic of Congo between March 1993 and June 2003. Already ahead of its official publication, the report produced diplomatic tensions between some States in the region and the United Nations. The report implicates Congolese and foreign parties responsible for abuses – including state or non-state armed groups from Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, and Angola. According to the report, attacks against the civilian population in the Democratic Republic of Congo “reveal a number of inculpatory elements that, if proven before a competent court, could be characterized as crimes of genocide. The December 2, 2010 Great Lakes Policy Forum will bring together scholars and researchers in two short panel sessions, to discuss ramifications of the UN Mapping Report as well as suggestions for justice mechanisms to address past and ongoing crimes. How should these crimes be addressed? Which would be a competent court to address the crimes? What are the next steps for bringing about justice for the victims in the Congo? What is the impact of the report for peacebuilding? What are the implications for U.S. foreign policy in the region?
Next steps toward justice
Mvemba Dizolele
SAIS Visiting Scholar, Independent journalist
Carina Tertsakian
Senior Researcher at Human Rights Watch, Africa Division
Peter Rosenblum
Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein Clinical Professorship of Human Rights Law, Columbia Law School
Implications for regional and U.S. foreign policy
Howard French
Associate Professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Anthony Gambino
Independent Consultant, former USAID Mission Director for the DRC
Laura Seay
Assistant Professor of Political Science at Morehouse College
Moderator:
Peter Lewis
Director of the African Studies Program at SAIS
Register here.
I'm also at the annual meeting of the African Studies Association this weekend. Hope to see many of you there!