To mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz Nazi death camp, Judge Theodor Meron, former President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) addressed members of the Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights (JBI) and an audience of 100 guests for a wide-ranging discussion of the legacy of the Nuremberg trials and international criminal justice.
JBI Administrative Council Chair, Jerry Biederman, introduced Judge Meron, noting that he had served with distinction years ago as a member of JBI’s Administrative Council. Judge Meron’s distinguished career includes serving as Presiding Judge of the Appeals Chambers of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the ICTY and three terms as President of the United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals on which he still sits as a judge.
JBI director Felice Gaer opened the discussion with Judge Meron, who reflected on the development of the international criminal tribunals, including those on which he has served. He reminded the audience that the Nuremberg tribunals laid the groundwork for all of the international courts that have followed, making it clear that a UN criminal court must be a model for international human rights, and must be cautious, non-political, impartial and correct.
Chief among the principles that Nuremberg established, according to Judge Meron, was the ability to hold each person, regardless of rank, accountable for crimes against humanity and genocide. This principle has carried through all subsequent international tribunals in the fight against impunity, and notably, was a guiding focus for the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal that Judge Meron headed.
While genocide had not yet been enshrined in international law as a crime at the time of Nuremberg, these trials paved the way for its codification in the 1948 Convention against Genocide, which 152 countries have ratified, including the US in 1988.
Judge Meron also responded to questions from Ms. Gaer about the pathbreaking decision of the ICTY regarding issues of gender-based violence, including his own role in the landmark decision against Dragoljub Kunarac, who was found guilty of rape and the enslavement of women by the UN court and imprisoned. He explained that this was the first-ever case in which an international war crimes court treated sexual violence as a crime against humanity. Judge Meron had written an academic article about this kind of abuse before his election to the court.
Judge Meron’s presentation to JBI also coincided with International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which was marked by the United Nations with a ceremony in the General Assembly Hall at UN headquarters in New York at which he was the keynote speaker. That ceremony featured remarks by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, as well as other dignitaries including the President of the General Assembly, and Ambassadors from Israel, Germany, Russia and the United States. JBI and AJC helped bringing over 230 participants, including over 40 diplomats, which contributed to record attendance for the event.
JBI commends the UN for maintaining its commitment to Holocaust remembrance and its annual program consisting of numerous events dedicated to the theme of Holocaust remembrance and the lessons of the Holocaust.
Founded in 1971, AJC’s Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights aims to strengthen international human rights institutions and non-governmental advocacy in defense of human rights in order to prevent abuses and protect human rights worldwide.
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