1. The Role of Justice in Preventing Mass Atrocities: 2019 Sudikof Interdisciplinary Seminar on Genocide Prevention
- Author:
- Amanda McCaffrey and Andrew Moore
- Publication Date:
- 06-2019
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Abstract:
- While justice may advance many goals in the context of mass atrocities, the focus of this seminar was its role in prevention and non-recurrence. The seminar took an expansive definition of justice tools, moving beyond the “transitional” justice framework to explore the potential utility of justice initiatives at all stages of atrocities. Justice interventions are not limited to efforts to prosecute perpetrators after atrocities have occurred, but can also be incorporated early on in at-risk situations and, in some cases, used to stem escalating tensions or violence. With limited scholarly or practical consensus on the role of justice in prevention and non-recurrence, domestic and international actors need to better understand which justice tools are best suited to various stages of conflict and how to design such tools to more effectively prevent and mitigate risks of atrocities. Breaking down silos between communities working on these issues—academics, international justice experts, policymakers, rule of law practitioners, atrocity prevention experts, local experts, victims, historians—is a first step to addressing this need. Participants agreed, however, that more work needs to be done to more precisely answer these questions and to cross-pollinate what research shows and translate it into practical policies, programs, and learnings that practitioners can use. The organizers framed the discussion around three distinct approaches to prevention: 1. Structural Prevention: Efforts to address underlying risk factors and root causes of atrocities in context. 2. Operational Prevention: Efforts to change the decision making processes of individual actors. 3. Systemic Prevention: Efforts to address global or transnational risks that fuel atrocities.
- Topic:
- Transitional Justice, Training, Justice, Atrocity Prevention, and Risk Assessment
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus