Starting on Monday the International Court of Justice is holding public hearings on The Gambia’s allegations that Myanmar has committed genocide against the Rohingya. Genocide was first recognised as a crime under international law by the United Nations General Assembly in 1946 and later categorized as an independent crime under the Genocide Convention. Genocide consists of targeted grave acts against members of a group with the intent to destroy it, in whole or in part. In 2004, the Secretary-General appointed the first Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide.

“Every single person indicted is exactly the opposite of a hero. And the only heroes in fact are the survivors and victims.” Serge Brammertz is one of the world's leading international prosecutors. As Chief Prosecutor of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT), he leads the process of tracking down fugitive criminals from wars in the former Yugoslavia, and the genocide in Rwanda. Decades on from the brutal Balkan wars of the 1990s, genocide denial and glorification of war criminals remain rife in the region. In this episode, Serge Brammertz reflects on his life-long quest to bring war criminals to justice, on working with the survivors of genocide, and what he has learned about the human condition.

©Photo: Courtesy of the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT)

18 April marks the anniversary of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. Since 1946, the Court has witnessed a steady increase in its judicial activity. Reflecting States’ growing confidence in the Court, the majority of the 178 cases submitted to the ICJ have been filed since 1992. Over the past five years, the Court has rendered 14 judgments, 59 orders and one advisory opinion, and there are currently 17 cases pending before it.

ido djqw djwq id