OSI Forum: Crimes of War—What the Public Should Know

Location: OSI-New York
Event Date(s): November 8, 2007
Speaker(s): Anthony Dworkin, George Packer, Samantha Power
Multimedia:   AUDIO

The Open Society Institute hosted a reception and panel discussion to mark the publication of the revised edition of Crimes of War: What the Public Should Know.

Panelists

• Anthony Dworkin, Executive Director of the Crimes of War Project;
• George Packer, Staff Writer for The New Yorker and contributor to Crimes of War;
• Samantha Power, Professor of Practice of Global Leadership and Public Policy at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government and Pulitzer Prize–winning author.

Aryeh Neier, President of the Open Society Institute, moderated the event.

What are the main challenges to promoting humane standards in the use of armed force today? What are the prospects for the future? The panelists discussed the current state of the laws against war crimes and mass atrocities, and how well they fit the conditions of contemporary warfare.

Crimes of War was originally published in 1999 and has since been translated into ten languages. The revised edition, Crimes of War 2.0, includes new articles on the most significant developments of the last eight years, including detention and interrogation, Guantanamo, occupation, Darfur, the Second Intifada, courts and tribunals and private military firms.