Learning Activity: Genocide in the World Today*

Provide students with copies of the following quotes made by participants at a conference on international war crimes held at the Chautauqua Institution (Jamestown, New York) and sponsored by the Robert H. Jackson Center on August 29, 2007.

“No one is above the law. The law is fair, and the rule of law is more powerful than the rule of the gun.” [David Crane, Special Court for Sierra Leone (West Africa)]

“Let the word go out to the warlords and leaders all over the world. However powerful, however mighty, however feared you may be, the law is above you.” [Sir Desmond De Silva, Special Court for Sierra Leone]

Ask students to explain each quote in their own words and to identify present-day examples of human rights violations and genocide in the world today. Ask students to tell how these violations and events qualify as crimes against peace and humanity. Discuss with students how the nations of the world can bring leaders who commit human rights violations and acts of genocide to courts of justice.

Students should also visit the Robert H. Jackson Center website to find out more about recent activities related to the Nuremberg Trials and other human rights cases at www.roberthjackson.org.

(*Quotes taken from: News from Robert H. Jackson Center, “Historic Gathering of International War Crimes Prosecutors Links Past, Present, and Future,” Fall 2007.)