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.

Tinker, Tailor, Lawyer: ICC Staff Arrested in Libya for “Spying”

I really hope John le Carré has read news of the arrest of four ICC staff members in Zintan while attempting to visit Saif al-Islam Gaddafi. A delegation, which includes an Australian lawyer, Melinda Taylor (media reports have not named any other … Continue reading

Posted in Libya, Libya and the ICC | Tagged , | 4 Comments

A Disturbing Tale: Canada’s Human Rights Record and Reputation

This past week the United Nations Committee Against Torture released a report into Canada’s human rights record. It wasn’t pretty. The Committee suggested that Canada was complicit in the torture of Canadian citizens post-9/11 and expressed concern at the “apparent reluctance on part … Continue reading

Posted in Afghanistan, Canada, Extraordinary Rendition, Guantanamo Bay, International Criminal Court (ICC), Justice, Torture, War crimes | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Politics, a Poison for Justice?

Richard Dicker, the director of Human Rights Watch recently wrote an interesting op-ed in the New York Times, provocatively entitled ‘A Flawed Court in Need of Credibility‘. Ten years ago, when the treaty creating the International Criminal Court took effect, … Continue reading

Posted in International Criminal Court (ICC), International Law, Malawi, Sudan | Tagged | 12 Comments

Has Social Media Successfully Reinvented Social Activism?

This week I had the honour to participate in a debate at the historic Oxford Union on whether “social media has successfully reinvented social activism”. The relationship between social media and social activism has become a critically important subject in the … Continue reading

Posted in Activism, Advocacy, Iran | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

ICC Prosecutor Moreno-Ocampo headed to FIFA

So that came out of left field. ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo will become FIFA’s ethics and corruption czar. As most readers will likely know, Moreno-Ocampo’s tenure at the ICC is coming to a close. In mid-June he is due … Continue reading

Posted in ICC Prosecutor, International Criminal Court (ICC), Sport | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Welcoming new JiC Co-Author, Alana Tiemessen!

Dear Readers, It is with great pleasure and excitement that I introduce to you, Alana Tiemessen, who has joined JiC as a new co-author. Many will already be familiar with Alana’s work on transitional justice, international criminal justice and lawfare … Continue reading

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Justice for Sexual Violence and Gender Crimes in Argentina

The following is a guest-post on gender and sexual violence as crimes against humanity and torture in the context of Argentina’s Dirty War by Mariana Rodriguez Pareja and Alia Al-Khatib, who is a human rights activist and Vassar Maguire Fellow in … Continue reading

Posted in Argentina, Crimes against humanity, Sexual Violence, Torture | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Justice in Libya: Investigating NATO?

A recent report released by Human Rights Watch, entitled “Unacknowledged Deaths: Civilian Casualties in NATO’s Air Campaign in Libya”, has called upon NATO to thoroughly investigate any of its air strikes in Libya last year that killed civilians. NATO reacted sharply, … Continue reading

Posted in Human Rights, ICC Prosecutor, International Criminal Court (ICC), Libya, Libya and the ICC, NATO | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

LRA Commander, Caesar Achellam, “Captured” – Some (Mostly Skeptical) Thoughts

In what has generally been reported as a “major coup” for African Union forces – and by extension the KONY2012 faithful – a senior LRA commander, Caesar Achellam was detained over the weekend while crossing the border between the Democratic … Continue reading

Posted in Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), Uganda | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

The ICC in Libya: Beyond Peace vs. Justice

This post is my contribution to a timely symposium being held at the Canadian International Council on the “peace versus justice” debate. I encourage you to check out other contributions to the symposium from Leslie Vinjamuri, Alana Tiemessen and Stephen Brown, … Continue reading

Posted in International Criminal Court (ICC), Libya, Libya and the ICC, The Tripoli Three (Tripoli3) | 4 Comments