Justice

Most of the venture backed businesses, and venture capital firms, are a mirror-tocracy not a meritocracy! Senior executives are disproportionately drawn from a narrow stratum of society – in the US, this means Ivy-League Schools such as Stanford. They tend to be overwhelmingly white (and increasingly now Asian) but certainly overwhelmingly male.

Founder of Lotus Development Corporation & Digital Pioneer

What we managed to do was to bring these people together. I soon realized that human rights advocates, arms experts, and policy makers, despite their different fields, were all driven by the same curiosity and thirst for more information, each bringing their unique perspective to the table.

Founder of Bellingcat, open-source investigation journalism network

If someone consistently films artillery strikes from their home, not only can we geolocate where the strikes are occurring, but we can also pinpoint the filmer's residence. If an unfriendly state actor would rather not have such footage made public, they could easily direct their artillery towards the identified filming location. This situation underscores the importance of witness protection.

Founder of Bellingcat, open-source investigation journalism network

David was wrongfully convicted for a murder, spending 29 years in prison before his exoneration. His response underscored the power of adopting a positive and healthy mindset. He compared his ordeal to his sister's lifelong struggle with cerebral palsy, saying that in light of her condition, what he went through didn't seem so bad. Despite having 30 years of his life unjustly taken away, he spoke of his own fortunes.

Evolutionary Psychologist & Author Known for Consumer Behavior Research

Upon experiencing my first miscarriage, I was incredulously told I'd need to endure three consecutive miscarriages before further action would be taken. The idea itself was staggering to me. You wouldn't ask someone to undergo multiple heart attacks or even endure recurrent minor injuries like broken fingers before intervening. Yet, the system requires women to face the trauma of three successive miscarriages. This policy is an absolute miscarriage of justice.

British TV presenter, singer, and classical musician from Pop Idol

Fear can be useful for political leaders and governments as a screen to introduce unpopular legislation. There are those who argue that 9/11 enabled George W. Bush to pass far reaching surveillance laws under the Patriot Act, which would have been unthinkable without the fear produced by the terrorist attacks.

Consider a car with malfunctioning brakes; it's unsafe to let it on the street, as it could cause harm. You'd need to confine it, but you wouldn't punish it or moralize its malfunction. Instead, you'd seek to understand why its brakes failed. This approach mirrors how we should handle human criminality.

Neuroscientist & primatologist known for stress research and public engagement

The concept of 'crimes against humanity,' as initially defined for the Nuremberg trial, emerged to address atrocities committed in Germany, particularly against Jewish and other minority groups, including political factions and the disabled. These acts demanded accountability, which the existing legal frameworks, recognizing state sovereignty, couldn't provide.

International human rights lawyer & UN investigator on war crimes

Under international law, genocide specifically requires the targeting of a group identified by national, ethnic, racial, or religious characteristics, often termed 'ethnicity', and aims at the physical destruction of this group. This is where controversies often arise, particularly when there's insufficient evidence of an intent to physically destroy the group.

International human rights lawyer & UN investigator on war crimes

This principle demands careful consideration of protection that must be given to civilians and civilian property, balancing military objectives against foreseeable collateral damage. This balance cannot be made by a formulaic algorithm – there isn't one – but by human judgment. In recent decades, it has become apparent that that human judgement is assisted by legal advisors who play a crucial role in these decisions, offering guidance on the legality of military actions.

Prosecutor of Slobodan Milošević at the International Criminal Tribunal

At one site, a mature man carrying a white flag was shot dead by an Israeli soldier. To those less experienced or with a 'soft' generally compassionate outlook, this might immediately seem a clear case of unlawful killing – a 'war crime'. However, the general offered a different perspective. He considered the terrain and highlighted the dilemma faced by the soldier in high-risk situations: might the soldier be genuinely uncertain over whether the white flag genuinely signified surrender?

Prosecutor of Slobodan Milošević at the International Criminal Tribunal

Despite romantic notions about laws of war being found in on Cyrus' Cylinder, (circa 539 BC) or in the Bible's Book of Deuteronomy, effective legal frameworks didn't emerge until the latter part of the 19th Century. They began with the American Lieber Code – military law for wartime conduct applied by Abraham Lincoln to the Union side in the American Civil War – and the first Geneva Convention, followed by the Hague Conventions, and now found in the modern iteration of the Geneva Conventions and their protocols.

Prosecutor of Slobodan Milošević at the International Criminal Tribunal

There is still considerable hesitancy within the international community for robust intervention. Ultimately, blue helmets, or UN peacekeepers, come from specific countries, and the decision to withdraw them rests with the capitals of these contributing countries.

Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court for former Yugoslavia and Rwanda

Those who know the locations of the remaining graves remain silent, not wanting to tarnish the 'heroic' image of their generals. This silence and glorification prevent crucial information about mass graves from emerging, demonstrating the profound and tragic impact of this hero worship.

Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court for former Yugoslavia and Rwanda

Today's world reveals a sad truth: impunity for international crimes is more common than prosecutions. Justice and accountability remain the exception rather than the rule.

Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court for former Yugoslavia and Rwanda

I firmly believe that a society cannot heal from the wounds of war without accountability for serious international crimes. How can a society move towards a shared future while fundamental disagreements about the past and about responsibility for past crimes persist?

Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court for former Yugoslavia and Rwanda