Debating the International Criminal Court’s Future

May 20, 2014

The Future of International Justice (May 13, 2014)

The International Criminal Court remains a work in progress. Since it began operations over a decade ago, it has handed down three verdicts, one an acquittal, all arising from atrocities committed by militia forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The court has encountered fierce resistance, first from the United States, which has declined to ratify the Rome Statute, and more recently from a number of governments in Africa. The most substantial prosecution to date, of Kenya’s current president and deputy president, has faced numerous problems.

At the same time, limited by its founding treaty, the court has been unable to investigate some of the worst atrocities of our time—including the more than 150,000 deaths in Syria since 2012. Will the court as we know it survive? How will it overcome its considerable challenges? And what are the stakes for international justice?

At a recent event, experts discussed the International Criminal Court’s future. Listen above.

Evidence for Accountability

Q&A: How Open Source Evidence Is Challenging Abuses, Atrocities, and Disinformation

Five people seated on stage speaking below a projection of news stories

Bellingcat has pioneered the use of open-source research to expose human rights abuses, atrocity crimes, and high-level corruption and other criminal activities involving governments, gangs, and other illicit actors.

July 3, 2024

Event Recap

Financing Atrocity, Forging Accountability: New Strategies for International Justice

Economic crimes and grave violence often occur in tandem. But commercial companies involved in facilitating serious international crimes—or profiting from them—have rarely been held accountable by international courts.

June 7, 2019

A New Beginning

For a Better Future, Sudan Must Confront Its Past

With Omar al-Bashir no longer in power, the temptation to move beyond his regime’s crimes is understandable. But unless Sudan grapples with its past, it risks trading one corrupt dictatorship for another.

May 10, 2019 | Ezzaddean El Safi

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