Foreign Policy Blogs

Obama Announces New War Crimes Ambassador

President Obama has nominated Stephen Rapp, currently the Prosecutor for the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), as his Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues.

As head of the Office of War Crimes Issues, Rapp will report directly to Secretary Clinton regarding a wide range of war crimes issues – from Darfur to Burma to Uganda.  While under the Bush administration the office also handled certain issues related to Guantanamo detainees, this role has been removed.

Rapp has served as a US Attorney in Iowa, as a prosecutor at the ICTR on the so-called ‘Media Trial’ where Rwandan radio and newspaper executives were convicted for incitement to commit genocide, and most recently as lead prosecutor at former Liberian President Charles Taylor‘s case at the SCSL.  He will replace Clint Williamson, who has held the position since his appointment in 2006.

 

Author

Lisa Gambone

Lisa Gambone is a NY attorney who has provided pro bono work for Human Rights Watch, the ICTR Prosecution and Lawyers Without Borders, first while practicing at a large law firm in London, now independently. She has also spent time at the Caprivi high treason trials in Namibia and at human rights organizations in Belfast, London and New York. She has helped edit and provided research for several publications, including case books on the law of the ad hoc tribunals and a critique of the Iraqi Anfal Trial. She holds a JD specializing in International Law from Columbia University, an MA in International Economics and European Studies from Johns Hopkins SAIS, and a BA in International Relations - Security & Diplomacy from Brown University. Here, she covers war crimes and international justice.