Category Archives: Genocide

Canada and allies recognize Palestine: what does it mean, what does it change, and will real action to end atrocities and annexation follow?

Posted on September 22, 2025 by Mark Kersten

Amidst the atrocities, annexation efforts, and ignored warnings to stop both, it became impossible to defend the status quo. So, on 21 September 2025, Canada joined 150 other states – including erstwhile Israeli allies, France and the UK – that … Continue reading →

Posted in Apartheid, Canada, Gaza, Genocide, Israel, Palestine, United Nations, United Nations General Assembly | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Catching perpetrators to prosecute them abroad: could piecemeal justice contribute to comprehensive accountability for atrocities committed in Gaza?

Posted on August 11, 2025 by Mark Kersten

They thought they’d enjoy the festival, maybe a waffle and a Hoegaarden. Instead, the two Israeli soldiers were detained and questioned by Belgian police after facing allegations of war crimes stemming from the Hind Rajab Foundation, an organization set up to track soldiers … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Crimes against humanity, Gaza, Genocide, Israel, Palestine, Palestine and the ICC, Syria, Universal Jurisdiction, War crimes | Tagged | Leave a comment

To understand Genocide in Gaza and elsewhere, we need to talk about it as a process not an event

Posted on August 2, 2025 by Mark Kersten

A growing consensus of international and Israeli human rights organizations, editorial boards, Israeli Holocaust historians and former Attorney Generals, as well as figures like Romeo Dallaire, have all come to the same conclusion: What is happening in Gaza is a genocide. But it is clear there remains … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Darfur, Gaza, Genocide, Holocaust, Holodomor, Indigenous Peoples, International Criminal Court (ICC), Israel, Palestine, Rwandan Genocide, Sudan, Yazidi Genocide | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Sifting through speculation: What we do and don’t know about Canada’s Structural Investigation into the Israel-Hamas War

Posted on July 15, 2025 by Mark Kersten

In the wake of the recent revelation that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) had opened a structural investigation into international crimes committed during the Israeli-Hamas conflict in early 2024, many have projected their gravest fears, and greatest hopes, on what an … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Crimes against humanity, Gaza, Genocide, International Criminal Court (ICC), Israel, Palestine, RCMP Structural Investigation, Universal Jurisdiction, War crimes, West Bank | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

‘A new standard on perpetrator research’ – An Enthusiastic Encyclopaedia of Perpetrators

Posted on June 23, 2025 by Mark Kersten

The following article by Carola Lingaas is the latest in JiC’s ongoing symposium on Alette Smeulers’ new book “Perpetrators of Mass Atrocities Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal?”. Carola is a full professor of law at VID Specialized University in Oslo (Norway). For all other … Continue reading →

Posted in Genocide, International Criminal Justice, Symposium Introduction - A JiC Symposium on Alette Smeulers'  "Perpetrators of Mass Atrocities Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal?, Terrorism, War crimes | Tagged | Leave a comment

‘What are perpetrators actually doing, and to whom?’ A call to focus on the actions of perpetrators of mass atrocities

Posted on June 19, 2025 by Mark Kersten

The following contribution to JiC’s ongoing symposium on Alette Smeulers’  “Perpetrators of Mass Atrocities Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal?” comes from Dr. Iva Vukušić, an Assistant Professor of International History at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. You can access all contributions to … Continue reading →

Posted in Alette Smeulers, Crimes against humanity, Genocide, War crimes | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Introduction – A JiC Symposium on Alette Smeulers’  “Perpetrators of Mass Atrocities Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal?”

Posted on June 18, 2025 by Mark Kersten

What forces make and shape perpetrators of mass atrocities? What makes them tick and ultimately resort to horrific violence? What explains their behaviour, and their decision to resort to the commission of international crimes? What can understanding different motivations and … Continue reading →

Posted in Crimes against humanity, Genocide, International Criminal Justice, Symposium Introduction - A JiC Symposium on Alette Smeulers'  "Perpetrators of Mass Atrocities Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal?, Transitional Justice, War crimes | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Trump’s Gaza “Plan” would mean committing every core international crime

Posted on February 6, 2025 by Mark Kersten

It is hard to keep track of the number of international crimes being proposed in Washington as a response to the destruction of Gaza. There are solid arguments to be made that President Donald Trump’s “plan” for the United States to “own” … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime of Aggression, Crimes against humanity, Gaza, Genocide, ICC Prosecutor, International Criminal Court (ICC), Israel, Palestine, United States, War crimes | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Justice for the Missing and Disappeared: A landmark report on the ongoing need for accountability for the atrocities committed against Indigenous children in and by Canada

Posted on November 11, 2024 by Mark Kersten

Dear JiC readers, In late October 2024, The Office of the Independent Special Interlocutor for Missing Children and Unmarked Graves and Burial Sites associated with Indian Residential Schools released its final report and submitted it to the government of Canada. … Continue reading →

Posted in Amnesty, Canada, Crimes against humanity, Genocide, Indigenous Peoples, International Criminal Court (ICC), Torture | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Let the International Court of Justice Decide: It is Law, not History, that holds the Promise of Protecting Life in Gaza 

Posted on January 22, 2024 by Mark Kersten

The following article was written by Amanda Ghahremani and Mark Kersten and originally appeared in the Toronto Star. Amanda is an international lawyer, research fellow at the Human Rights Center, UC Berkeley, and at the Simone de Beauvoir Institute, Concordia … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Gaza, Genocide, International Court of Justice (ICJ), International Law, Israel, Palestine, South Africa | Tagged | 2 Comments