Impunity Watch presents third annual symposium, ‘Sexual Violence as a Weapon of War and Crime against Humanity’

On Saturday, April 14, at 1 p.m. in Maxwell Auditorium, Syracuse University College of Law’s Impunity Watch will present its third annual symposium on human rights, “Sexual Violence as a Weapon of War and Crime against Humanity.” Former International Criminal Court attorney Christine Chung will present the keynote speech.

Following a brief snack break there will be a panel discussion featuring Syracuse University professor Beverly Allen and Erie County Sheriff’s Human Trafficking Task Force Deputy Elizabeth Fildes, to be moderated by the founding chief prosecutor for the Special Court for Sierra Leone, Syracuse University College of Law Professor David Crane L’80. The day will conclude at 4 p.m. with a reception with appetizers and refreshments. The symposium is free and open to the general public. Parking is free in the Irving Parking Garage located on Stadium Place.

“In this age of ‘dirty little wars,’ civilians, particularly women, bear the brunt of the horror that one finds in largely non-international armed conflict,” says Crane. “This was no more apparent than during my time as chief prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone. The cornerstone of my indictments were gender crimes. I was going to make them account for what the indictees had done to women and girls. This important and cutting-edge symposium will explore the ramifications of sexual violence during times of conflict in place worn down by war.”

From 2004-2007, Chung was the first senior trial attorney at the International Criminal Court (ICC), prosecuting perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. She directed the investigation that led to the issuance of the first ICC arrest warrants in Uganda and led the investigation in the Congo that resulted in the case again Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui.

Allen is currently professor of Italian and comparative literature and Tolley Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Humanities at SU. Her foray into investigative journalism produced “Rape Warfare” (University of Minnesota Press, 1996), the book that influenced the United Nations Security Council to create a new law making rape a crime against humanity. Allen has previously served as a consultant to the U.N. International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. She earned a master’s degree from Columbia University and a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley.

Fildes trains government officials, law enforcement officers and non-government employees worldwide to identify human trafficking and how to interview victims. Having been deemed an expert on the matter by the U.S. Department of Justice, Fildes is also a member of the NYS DCJS Criminal Justice Subcommittee of the Interagency Task Force on Human Trafficking. Fildes is also the co-founder of United Hands of Hope House, where all proceeds go to developing a safe house for domestic violence victims in New York.

Impunity Watch is the nation’s most read law journal. It reaches approximately 9,000 readers a month in more than 100 countries. For more information and Impunity Watch’s daily reporting on human rights, visit www.ImpunityWatch.com.