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.

US Sends 100 Troops to Uganda to Hunt Kony: Some Thoughts

Late last week, President Obama informed the Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner, that he had ordered 100 troops to be deployed to Uganda with the mission of “removing” the Lord’s Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony from the … Continue reading

Posted in Economics of Conflict, Justice, Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), Uganda, United States | 11 Comments

South Asia’s First War Crimes Criminal Tribunal

JiC is happy to welcome Dawood Ahmed as a guest-poster. Dawood is a Solicitor (non-practicing) and a research associate at the Center on Law and Globalization. In his first post at JiC, Dawood introduces some of the key challenges facing … Continue reading

Posted in Amnesty, Asia, Bangladesh, Human Rights, Justice, War crimes | 2 Comments

Justice and Diamonds in Zimbabwe: Saving Kimberley from Itself

Andrew Jillions joins us again to discuss the Kimberly Process of diamond certification in the context Zimbabwe. As Andrew explains, the case of Zimbabwe risks undermining a process which, for all its faults, remains the best way to prevent the … Continue reading

Posted in Economics of Conflict, Human Rights, Justice, Kimberly Process, Zimbabwe | 2 Comments

No Surprise: Why Libya but not Syria

Despite high rhetoric being flung across the Security Council yesterday, Russia and China’s vetoing of the European-drafted resolution condemning Syria’s brutal crackdown on civilians should come as no surprise. There are a number of political-tuned reasons to explain why this Resolution failed. … Continue reading

Posted in Bahrain, China, Crimes against humanity, Egypt, Human Rights, International Criminal Court (ICC), Justice, Libya, Libya and the ICC, Russia, Tunisia, UN Security Council, Yemen | Leave a comment

Broadening Horizons: Ecocide, Famine and the “Other” Crimes

If you can’t see it, it can’t and doesn’t really matter that much. That seems to be the attitude of many of us to key issues of international concern. Take for example, a core contradiction in many people’s hesitation to … Continue reading

Posted in al-Shabaab, Burma/Myanmar, Crimes against humanity, Ecocide, Environment, Famine, Human Rights, Justice, North Korea | 4 Comments

Handcuffed by Statehood: Justice and Palestine

Observers have watched with keen interest as Mahmoud Abbas took the politically risky, some say courageous, move to seek UN recognition of Palestine as a state. At the very center of Abbas’ polarizing decision is the International Criminal Court and … Continue reading

Posted in Human Rights, International Criminal Court (ICC), Israel, Justice, Middle East, Palestine, Palestine and the ICC, United States | Leave a comment

(Ab)using International Law: Over-Extending the use of Crimes Against Humanity

Abhimanyu George Jain is a graduate of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore, India where he developed a strong interest in public international law. In this post,  Abhimanyu shares with us his thoughts on the expansion of the use … Continue reading

Posted in Crimes against humanity, Human Rights, International Criminal Court (ICC), Justice, Norway, Vatican | 4 Comments

The Fallacy of Sequencing Peace and Justice

A few weeks ago I spoke with a senior transitional justice researcher and aspiring politician from northern Uganda about the trials (if you excuse the pun) and tribulations of achieving peace and justice in the region. He described sentiments familiar … Continue reading

Posted in Amnesty, Argentina, Human Rights, Justice, Latin America, Peace Negotiations, South America, Transitional Justice, Uganda | 6 Comments

Conflicting Impulses: The Debate on Amnesties in the Case of Uganda’s Thomas Kwoyelo and Beyond

This past summer, Uganda did something it had never done before: it put a rebel from the notorious Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) on trial for international crimes. The trial of Thomas Kwoyelo marked yet another fascinating twist in Uganda’s experience … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

JiC’s 100th Post

Dear readers and friends, This marks JiC’s 100th post. Looking back, I am still amazed at how far this project, which began with such humble expectations, has come. I hope that you have enjoyed reading our posts as much as we … Continue reading

Posted in JiC News | 2 Comments