FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Harvard’s Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations to Convene International Criminal Justice Conference at UN Headquarters

2 September 2009

Contact: Rahim Kanani, Hauser Center
Tel: +1 617.460.9238
E-mail: rahim_kanani@hks.harvard.edu
Web: http://www.hausercenter.org/jhr

CAMBRIDGE, MA – The Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard University is convening a Consultative Conference on International Criminal Justice September 9-11, 2009 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.

The conference will be chaired by Hauser Center Faculty Director and Kennedy School Criminal Justice Professor Christopher Stone, and is sponsored by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The Conference Steering Committee also includes the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, the Coalition for the International Criminal Court, and the International Center for Transitional Justice.

The Conference culminates a year-long effort to better align the plans and strategies of several organs of the International Criminal Court, and other national and transnational justice mechanisms. Discussions will result in concrete action plans for improved collaboration between Court officials, civil society actors, academics and international justice experts over the coming three years.

“The goal of this conference is to allow a range of key international justice actors to openly consult on mutually reinforcing strategies for the next few years,” said Professor Stone. “If the international criminal justice system is to really take hold over the next decade, the networks on which it depends— networks among states, among NGOs, among international bodies—must also be strengthened and, when possible, better aligned.”

Participants include the Prosecutor, Registrar, and President of the International Criminal Court, the former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, the former Chairman of the Kenya National Human Rights Commission, the Commissioner of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, the President and CEO of Save the Children, the former president of the International Center for Transitional Justice, the President of the Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Minister of Justice, among many others. For a full list of presenters, click here.

The Rome Statute and the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC) are key events among many that have created a permanent, global justice system dependent on international institutions, nation states, and non-governmental organizations. Today, that system includes regional courts, international law enforcement bodies, and new organizations working toward the control of violence, the promotion of lasting security, and the manifestation of justice for the world’s gravest crimes.

“Ultimately, our international justice efforts is not simply calling to account evildoers but raising the quality of justice in nations in regions all over the world,” states former MacArthur Foundation President Jonathan Fanton.

The conference will also be an opportunity for academics and practitioners to examine these important issues together and come to a better common understanding of the work and impact of the international justice system.

In preparation for the conference, the Hauser Center’s Justice and Human Rights Domain have published a number of interviews and articles on issues related to international justice, human rights, and NGOs, through its’ online magazine, Facebook, and Twitter platforms.

Following the conference, the Domain will facilitate follow-up interviews with presenters and participants, and conduct a brownbag seminar series on key issues and themes raised throughout the conference.

We invite you to join us in this ongoing work and discussion. Please contact us through the Justice and Human Rights Domain website for a number of ways to get involved.