The Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was established three years ago through a piece of legislation called the TRC Act. It has been supported and funded by the government of Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf (a.k.a. Africa’s first female President). This fact, in combination with the widely accepted sense that Johnson-Sirleaf is the best thing […]
Archives for 2009
Conflict in Congo Rages on Despite 49 Years of Independence
July 1, 2009 by 1 Comment
Thanks to HuffPost for publishing this: Goma, DRC – Jimmy Makozo is ten years old. He should be in school. Instead, he is on the streets of Goma desperately reaching out to strangers like me. Throughout Congo, celebrations are underway for the 49th anniversary of independence from colonial rule. It was in the midst of […]
Audio postcard from Goma
June 30, 2009 by Leave a Comment
A little like my Sarajevo podcast, this is not actually part of my research. On Thursday evening I had to go to Musanze in northern Rwandan to interview one of the AU Deputy Commanders who had been deployed in Darfur. By the time I was at Musanze I was just 2 hours by bus from […]
Presenting Goma: Exhibit A in the case for genocide prevention
June 29, 2009 by Leave a Comment
Congolese officials are preparing a veritable extravaganza for the arrival of President Kabila in Goma on Tuesday to mark independence from colonial rule. Meanwhile, many of the soldiers rehearsing their drills in preparation for his visit remain unpaid. Local aid workers worry about the volatile mix of large groupings of invariably drunken soldiers with accompanying […]
Gacaca up close
June 28, 2009 by 1 Comment
On February 24 this year, Béatrice Nirere was sentenced by a Gacaca court to life imprisonment with “special conditions” (isolation) for her involvement in planning the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi population in Rwanda. This week, I sat in an over-crowded stifling room (despite glassless windows, no fresh air made it through due to the […]
Prosecution gets to appeal ICC decision not to charge Bashir with genocide
June 24, 2009 by 3 Comments
The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I* has granted the Prosecution leave to appeal its decision from March this year not to issue a warrant of arrest for Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir for genocide (it issued it for five counts of crimes against humanity and two counts of war crimes). The Prosecution raised its appeal on […]
Bashir arrest warrant decision in bullet points and (relatively) plain English
June 24, 2009 by 2 Comments
The arrest warrant was issued against Omar Al Bashir for five counts of Crimes Against Humanity (murder, murder, rape, torture, extermination and forcible transfer committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack against a civilian population) and two counts of War Crimes (killing and pillaging). Standards of proof at different stages of proceedings: Under […]
In loving memory of Sifa Nsengimana
June 24, 2009 by 1 Comment
October 25, 2012 I just received the heartbreaking news that my dear friend and inspiration, Sifa Nsengimana, has been killed in a car accident in South Africa. Death is hard to handle no matter the circumstances, but for this world to lose someone who had survived so much, who had managed to see the worst […]
Podcast:Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre
June 22, 2009 by Leave a Comment
In this 20-minute podcast from the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre, I speak with two of the staff that work there: One, a survivor of the 1994 genocide, who now guides visitors around the memorial, and another from the Aegis Trust in the U.K. In addition to walking listeners through the exhibition, (documenting the pathways to […]
From Kigali
June 21, 2009 by Leave a Comment
After the killing has ceased, and order has been restored: How do you make it right again? This is the question addressed in a new film, My Neighbor, My Killer, according to the article about it in the NYT this week. It’s also the question that I can’t stop thinking about as I walk through […]
