Author Archives: Mark Kersten

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About Mark Kersten

Mark Kersten is an Assistant Professor in the Criminology and Criminal Justice Department at the University of the Fraser Valley in British Columbia, Canada, and a Senior Consultant at the Wayamo Foundation in Berlin, Germany. Mark is the founder of the blog Justice in Conflict and author of the book, published by Oxford University Press, by the same name. He holds an MSc and PhD in International Relations from the London School of Economics and a BA (Hons) from the University of Guelph. Mark has previously been a Research Associate at the Refugee Law Project in Uganda, and as researcher at Justice Africa and Lawyers for Justice in Libya in London. He has taught courses on genocide studies, the politics of international law, transitional justice, diplomacy, and conflict and peace studies at the London School of Economics, SOAS, and University of Toronto. Mark’s research has appeared in numerous academic fora as well as in media publications such as The Globe and Mail, Al Jazeera, BBC, Foreign Policy, the CBC, Toronto Star, and The Washington Post. He has a passion for gardening, reading, hockey (on ice), date nights, late nights, Lego, and creating time for loved ones.

Happy 2013 from JiC!

Dear readers, Happy 2013 from all of us at Justice in Conflict! 2012 was a wonderful whirlwind for the blog. Keeping with our goal to expand debates on ‘justice in conflict’, we featured dozens of guest-posters who shared their views … Continue reading

Posted in JiC News | 1 Comment

Lustration in Libya: Ruling Congress to Pass “Political Isolation Law”

Libya has made yet another significant and controversial decision as it continues down the bumpy path of its post-conflict and post-Gaddafi transition. According to the Libya Herald, the country’s General National Congress (GNC) is preparing to institute a “Political Isolation Law” … Continue reading

Posted in Libya, Lustration, Transitional Justice | Tagged , | 8 Comments

International Crimes, Local Justice: National Systems to End Impunity

Aminta Ossom joins JiC with this guest-post on the need for national accountability systems for international crimes in Sierra Leone and Ghana. Aminta is the 2012-2013 Crowley Fellow in International Human Rights at Fordham Law School’s Leitner Center for International Law and … Continue reading

Posted in Ghana, Guest Posts, Justice, Sierra Leone, Special Court for SIerra Leone (SCSL) | Tagged , | 2 Comments

The ICC and Justice in the Wake of the Ngudjolo Acquittal

For many at the International Criminal Court, it was a rough day at the office. For many in the DRC, it was bewildering and upsetting. On 18 December, ICC judges acquitted Mathieu Ngudjolo, the former Congolese rebel leader who had been on trial for his alleged … Continue reading

Posted in Democratic Republic of Congo, ICC Prosecutor, International Criminal Court (ICC), Outreach, War crimes | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

If the ICC Intervenes in Syria, Where Will Assad Go?

If the International Criminal Court (ICC) ever opens an investigation into Syria, it will almost assuredly become an irresistible trope to claim that the Court’s involvement caused President Bashar al-Assad to “dig his heals in” and “fight to the death”. … Continue reading

Posted in Exile, International Criminal Court (ICC), Syria | Tagged | 1 Comment

Something Good that Might Have Come from KONY2012

I recently had the opportunity to give a talk (for slides see here), hosted by Aidan Hehir, at Westminster University on a ‘pet project’ of mine – the role of social media in affecting political change and waging social activism. … Continue reading

Posted in Activism, Central African Republic (CAR), Democratic Republic of Congo, Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), Social Media, Uganda | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Frustrations over the ICC and Justice in Palestine

It came as no big surprise that the United Nations General Assembly voted to upgrade Palestine to non-member observer status. But, reflecting the reality that international criminal justice now goes to the very heart of Middle East politics, many are … Continue reading

Posted in Palestine, Palestine and the ICC | 6 Comments

If Simone Gbagbo ends up in The Hague, She won’t be the First

As readers will know, the ICC has unsealed an arrest warrant for Simone Gbagbo, becoming the first woman indicted by the Court. Today, Janet Anderson joins JiC for this timely background post on women who have been tried at international criminal tribunals. … Continue reading

Posted in Crimes against humanity, Genocide, ICTY, International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), Ivory Coast / Côte d'Ivoire, Ivory Coast and the ICC, Serbia | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The ICC to Investigate Libyan Rebel Crimes? We’ll See.

Over the past few days, a number of individuals have contacted me to ask about a statement in which ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda told the United Nations Security Council that her office was investigating rebel crimes committed during the … Continue reading

Posted in Crimes against humanity, Genocide, Justice, Libya, Libya and the ICC, UN Security Council, War crimes | Tagged , | 2 Comments

The aftermath of the ICTY’s Gotovina Trial: Due process and Historical truth

The following is a guest-post by Rhodri C. Williams, a human rights consultant and commentator who recently began working on rule of law issues in Libya with the International Legal Assistance Consortium. Rhodri also writes at his fantastic  TerraNullius blog. In this … Continue reading

Posted in Balkans, Croatia, ICTY, Serbia | Tagged , , | 4 Comments