Exposing Human Rights Abuses--A Help or Hindrance to Reconciliation

Despite the advent of the "new world order," international human rights violations remain a widespread problem. The propensities for such abuses are seen most recently through the widespread violence and genocide encountered in Yugoslavia and Rwanda. In an effort to address such abuses, the United Nations established the International War Crimes Tribunal for the Balkan States and Rwanda. The chief goals of the Tribunal are to collect data and try those accused of war crimes.

Justice Richard Goldstone, the Tobriner lecturer, is the Prosecutor of the Tribunal. In his lecture, Justice Goldstone describes how "truth commissions" have been used to address human rights violations throughout this past century. Justice Goldstone identifies where these truth commissions have succeeded in bringing about reconciliation, and where they have failed. Justice Goldstone then uses this historic backdrop to explain how the International War Crimes Tribunals was designed to function.