by Eze Eluchie
The quest to congregate global revulsion against the commission of mass murders, forced enslavement and some of the worst crimes conceivable, received a big boost with the convocation of the 1st International Colloquium on Genocides, War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity, on Friday, March 1st, 2013 at the McDonough Hall of Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC. The Colloquium was co-sponsored by the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law and the Human Rights Association-Amnesty International, both of Georgetown University and convened by Eze Eluchie.
The quest to congregate global revulsion against the commission of mass murders, forced enslavement and some of the worst crimes conceivable, received a big boost with the convocation of the 1st International Colloquium on Genocides, War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity, on Friday, March 1st, 2013 at the McDonough Hall of Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC. The Colloquium was co-sponsored by the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law and the Human Rights Association-Amnesty International, both of Georgetown University and convened by Eze Eluchie.
The Colloquium’s theme was, “The Forgotten
Genocides,” and had three core objectives:
1. Establish a platform where peoples who have
been, and or are likely to be victims of or perpetrators of war crimes and
crimes against humanity (particularly genocides) can share experiences and
ideas of preventing such dastardly acts.
2. Identify early warning signals and
locations where similar crimes are likely to be committed across the world with
a view to focusing global attention at such areas and preventing the commission
of such crimes.
3. Explore avenues to ameliorate the adverse
impact (psychological, physiological, developmental and otherwise) of war
crimes and crimes against humanity on the victims and perpetrators alike.
The
convergence of speakers and participants from across the world at the
Colloquium, particularly representatives of nationalities which had experienced
genocides, war crimes and other crimes against humanity in their history,
indicated a willingness of peoples from diverse countries and continents to
strive towards a better understanding of the causative factors of these vile
crimes with a view to forestalling repeats.
The
Colloquium commenced with a Panel on ‘The Politics of Genocide’ that delved
into the role States and leadership play in fostering genocides and other
crimes against humanity. The three panelists, His Excellency, Srdjan
Darmanovic, the Ambassador of Montenegro to the United States, José Miguel
Vivanco, Executive Director, Human Rights Watch (Americas Division) and Kate
Nahapetian, Government Affairs Director, Armenian National Committee of America
(ANCA) presented varying perspectives on how leadership and State actors have a
great influence in determining the course of genocides. Inept leadership was identified as a factor
that could exacerbate volatile situations.
The second
panel featured testimonials from persons who had survived harrowing episodes of
genocides in their respective countries of birth: Tung Yap (Cambodia), Kanayo
K. Odeluga (Biafra/Nigeria), Adrian Ventura (Guatemala), Jacqueline Birn
(Jewish holocaust), and Niemath Ahmadi (Darfur/Sudan). The similarity in the
tales of human sufferings and harrowing experiences recounted by the Speakers,
despite the fact that the diverse episodes of efforts at annihilation of
populations took place in difference continents and over a wide period of time,
is indicative of the need to congregate global resources at ensuring that
humanity is spared a reoccurrence of genocides.
The third
and final session, which featured Professor Gregory Stanton President of
Genocide Watch and Professor Gregg Bloche of Georgetown University, focused on
psychological and physiological dispositions and the culture of impunity, which
allowed genocides and other crimes against humanity to flourish and how to
address these faults.
Amongst
other precursors of genocides and other crimes against humanity, the Colloquium
identified inept political leadership within contending ethnic nationalities,
particularly in environments beset with economic challenges, as one of the
signs, which should flag off global concern. Other identified warning signals
of impending genocidal attacks include massive armament of the civil
population, forced classification of populations along religious or
ethnocentric divides, emergence of policies/laws which dehumanize identifiable
sub-sets of populations, and when extremist elements amongst subsets of
populations become more vocal and attain leadership positions.
The
Colloquium underscored the need for more studies into the impact prior acts of
genocides and other crimes against humanity had on not only the victims of such
acts but also the perpetrators and their respective descendants. The need to
strengthen available international transitional justice mechanisms to provide
succor and a sense of justice in the face of impunity was also identified as a
key ingredient for addressing the adverse psychological impact occasioned by
these crimes and to dissuade the likelihood of future occurrences.
A common
theme which resonated through the course of the Colloquium was the unanimity in
the desire of the speakers and participants for the establishment of an
international platform where issues of genocides, war crimes and crimes against
humanity would be addressed particularly with a view to identifying early
indicators of a likelihood of the occurrence of genocides and advising on
appropriate remedial and restorative mechanisms to prevent recurrence of these
scourges.
See:
http://www.oneillinstituteblog.org/congregating-global-revulsion-against-genocides-war-crimes-and-crimes-against-humanity/#more-1321
Picture: l-r, Eze Eluchie,
Ambassador of Montenegro to the United States, H.E. Srdjan Darmanovic and José Miguel Vivanco,
Executive Director, Human Rights Watch (Americas Division) at the Colloquium.
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