The Forgotten Crime: Forging a Convention for Crimes Against Humanity

Wednesday, October 25th, 2023
4:30 PM - 5:30 PM

Add to Calendar: Add to Calendar: 2023-10-25 16:30:00 2023-10-25 17:30:00 The Forgotten Crime: Forging a Convention for Crimes Against Humanity Event Description Washington University law professor and author Leila Sadat will speak about aspects of her latest book, The Forgotten Crime: Forging a Convention for Crimes Against Humanity.  Although the Nazis were prosecuted during World War II for Crimes Against Humanity, since that time, the public’s attention has been captured by the crimes of genocide and war crimes, with crimes against humanity – some of the worst international crimes -- treated as an afterthought. Forgotten victims, forgotten crime scenes, and forgotten justice have been the result. Now, with the advent of the International Criminal Court and the possibility of a new global treaty on crimes against humanity being adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in 2025, the world can change that, bringing us one step closer to making the pledge of “never again” a reality.  Attendees will gain insights about past and possible future legal actions on crimes against humanity. Speaker Bio Leila Sadat, James Carr Professor of International Criminal Law, Washington University School of Law, Chair of the Board of Directors of the American Branch of the International Law Association and Special Adviser on Crimes Against Humanity to the ICC Prosecutor. About the Klatsky Lecture The Klatsky Endowed Distinguished Lecture in Human Rights was created in 2001 by Bruce J. Klatsky, chair and CEO of Phillips Van Heusen Corp., and a member of the board of directors of Human Rights Watch. The Klatsky endowment also provides annual fellowships for two CWRU law students at Human Rights Watch. The list of past Klatsky Lecturers is a veritable who's who among the most impactful human rights luminaries on the planet, including: Samantha Power (US Ambassador to the UN), Harold Koh (Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights), Navi Pillay (UN High Commissioner for Human Rights), Zeid Bin Ra'ad (UN High Commissioner for Human Rights), Sir Christopher Greenwood (Judge of the International Court of Justice), Ken Roth (Executive Director of Human Rights Watch), Nicholas Koumjian (head of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar), Catherine March-Uhel (head of the UN International Impartial and Independent Mechanism for Syria), Michael Reisman (President of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights), Albie Sachs (anti-Apartheid activist and later Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa), Sean Murphy (member of the UN International Law Commission and President of the American Society of International Law), Paul Williams (President of the Public International Law and Policy Group) and Fatou Bensouda (Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court). CLE Reading Materials Case Western Reserve University School of Law George Gund Hall Moot Courtroom, Room A59  11075 East Blvd. Cleveland OH 44106 School of Law School of Law America/New_York public

The Bruce J. Klatsky Endowed Distinguished Lecture in Human Rights

1.0 hour of CLE credit, pending approval

Webcast Archive Content

Video: The Forgotten Crime: Forging a Convention for Crimes Against Humanity

Event Description

Washington University law professor and author Leila Sadat will speak about aspects of her latest book, The Forgotten Crime: Forging a Convention for Crimes Against Humanity.  Although the Nazis were prosecuted during World War II for Crimes Against Humanity, since that time, the public’s attention has been captured by the crimes of genocide and war crimes, with crimes against humanity – some of the worst international crimes -- treated as an afterthought. Forgotten victims, forgotten crime scenes, and forgotten justice have been the result. Now, with the advent of the International Criminal Court and the possibility of a new global treaty on crimes against humanity being adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in 2025, the world can change that, bringing us one step closer to making the pledge of “never again” a reality.  Attendees will gain insights about past and possible future legal actions on crimes against humanity.

Speaker Bio

Leila Sadat, James Carr Professor of International Criminal Law, Washington University School of Law, Chair of the Board of Directors of the American Branch of the International Law Association and Special Adviser on Crimes Against Humanity to the ICC Prosecutor.

About the Klatsky Lecture

The Klatsky Endowed Distinguished Lecture in Human Rights was created in 2001 by Bruce J. Klatsky, chair and CEO of Phillips Van Heusen Corp., and a member of the board of directors of Human Rights Watch. The Klatsky endowment also provides annual fellowships for two CWRU law students at Human Rights Watch. The list of past Klatsky Lecturers is a veritable who's who among the most impactful human rights luminaries on the planet, including: Samantha Power (US Ambassador to the UN), Harold Koh (Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights), Navi Pillay (UN High Commissioner for Human Rights), Zeid Bin Ra'ad (UN High Commissioner for Human Rights), Sir Christopher Greenwood (Judge of the International Court of Justice), Ken Roth (Executive Director of Human Rights Watch), Nicholas Koumjian (head of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar), Catherine March-Uhel (head of the UN International Impartial and Independent Mechanism for Syria), Michael Reisman (President of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights), Albie Sachs (anti-Apartheid activist and later Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa), Sean Murphy (member of the UN International Law Commission and President of the American Society of International Law), Paul Williams (President of the Public International Law and Policy Group) and Fatou Bensouda (Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court).

CLE Reading Materials

Event Location

Case Western Reserve University School of Law
George Gund Hall
Moot Courtroom, Room A59 
11075 East Blvd.
Cleveland OH 44106

Leila Sadat Headshot