Rwanda’s Impact: Shaping Modern Genocide Law
Date: Oct 18, 2024 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Location: Online
Member Price: $143
Non-Member Price: $179
Section Price: $-1
Areas of Law: For All Attorneys
Earn up to 2.3 credits! (More Information)
Keynote
Moderator
- Zachary D. Kaufman J.D., Ph.D.
- Professor of Law
University of Florida Levin College of Law
Presenters
- Wanda M. Akin, Esq.
- Wanda M Akin & Associates, Newark
- Raymond M. Brown, Esq.
- Civil and Criminal Litigator
Pashman Stein Walder Hayden, Hackensackis a Partner in Pashman Stein Walder Hayden with offices in Hackensack and Holmdel, New Jersey, and Purchase, New York. A highly-respected civil and criminal litigator, he concentrates his practice in white collar criminal defense, international human rights compliance, internal investigations and complex commercial litigation, and has appeared in high-profile trials including the nine-month trial involving former Labor Secretary Raymond J. Donovan and the successful eight-year defense of senior executives of a major multinational corporation charged with environmental violations, as well as serving as Defense Co-Counsel for Senator Robert Menendez against criminal allegations of public corruption and bribery brought by the U.S. government.
Admitted to practice in New Jersey and New York, and before the Special Court for Sierra Leone and the United States Supreme Court, Mr. Brown is a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, the American College of Trial Lawyers and the American Board of Criminal Lawyers, and a member and Past President of the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey. He is also a member of the American Bar Association Sections of Criminal Justice and International Law, and the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Criminal Law Section and Task Force on Judicial Independence. He has been a Trustee of the Association of the Federal Bar of New Jersey and is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, where he is a former Board Member and Parliamentarian.
Host of the Emmy Award-winning New Jersey Network program Due Process, Mr. Brown has been a Visiting Professor and Research Scholar at Seton Hall University School of Law, where he has taught international criminal law, criminal procedure and professional responsibility. He has also taught international criminal law at the Seton Hall/American University Program in Cairo, Egypt, and at Seton Hall University’s School of Diplomacy and International Relations. Mr. Brown is the recipient of the Litigation Counsel of America’s Peter Perlman Service Award and the (inaugural) 2018 Francis X. Dee Award bestowed by the American College of Trial Lawyers, as well as a 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Essex County Bar Association and several other honors. His articles have appeared in the New Jersey Law Journal and other professional publications, and he has lectured for ICLE, the New Jersey State Bar Association, the Professional Education Group and other organizations.
Mr. Brown received his B.A. from Columbia University and his J.D. from Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley. - Jacqueline Murekatete
- Genocide Survivor and Human Rights Advocate,
- David J. Simon, Ph.D.
- Assistant Dean, Graduate Education and Director, Genocide Studies Program
Yale University
Join the NJSBA/NJICLE for a comprehensive program focusing on legal aspects of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and what lawyers can do to prevent genocide. Take a deep dive into the origins, responses, and ongoing implications of genocide from a legal perspective. You will gain valuable insights into the mechanisms of justice and accountability, the power of legal advocacy and the role of law in preventing genocide and other atrocity crimes. Enhance your understanding and skills to better serve your clients in the realms of international law, human rights and atrocity prevention.
This important program is the latest in a series of seminars that focus on how lawyers can prevent and prosecute genocide. Other programs have focused on the Holocaust, the Armenian Genocide and Russia Ukraine war.
Program Agenda:
- 10:00 | Catalysts of Catastrophe: Understanding the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda - David J. Simon, Ph.D
Discover the complex historical and socio-political events that culminated in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. Our expert faculty will:
- Illuminate the historical context and both longer-term and immediate causes of the genocide.
- Analyze the roles of local and international actors in the escalation and response.
- Discuss the application of digital technology in documenting and preventing atrocity crimes.
- 10:40 | Courts of Justice: Prosecuting Genocide Perpetrators - Zachary D. Kaufman, J.D., Ph.D.
Examine the four main legal methods that have responded to the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda: Rwanda’s ordinary courts, Rwanda’s innovative Gacaca courts, foreign courts and the U.N. International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). You will gain insights into the international, foreign and domestic legal mechanisms employed post-genocide and:
- Detail the creation, function, and achievements of the ICTR.
- Explore the evolution of international legal frameworks for addressing genocide and related crimes.
- Assess the impacts and legacies of these judicial processes on international law.
- 11:30 | Preventing Atrocities: Legal Strategies and Human Rights - Jacqueline Murekatete
Learn real-life lessons from a survivor’s perspective about the intersection of law, human rights and advocacy in genocide prevention. Join this unique session to:
- Explore the influence of survivor testimonies on legal reforms and human rights advocacy.
- Analyze the effectiveness and evolution of international legal responses to genocide.
- Identify challenges in the prosecution of genocide and strategies to overcome them.
- 11:50 | Q&A Session with All Presenters
Engage with our speakers in a live Q&A session, posing your questions about the legal intricacies discussed.
- 12:00 | Wrap-Up and Closing Remarks
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