JAMESTOWN, N.Y. – The Robert H. Jackson Center, a non-profit dedicated to promoting liberty under law through the examination of the life and work of Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson and its relevance to current events and issues, will open the 11th annual International Humanitarian Law Dialogues (IHLD), with a two-part program. The program features the conferral of the Joshua Heinz Award for Humanitarian Achievement and an unprecedented interview with the former and current Chief International Co-Prosecutors for the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), commonly referred to as the Khmer Rouge Tribunal. Robert H. Jackson Center President Susan Moran Murphy made the announcement.

On Sunday, August 27, at 7 p.m., the Robert H. Jackson Center will open the 11th Annual International Humanitarian Law Dialogues, entitled “Changing Times: New Opportunities for International Justice and Accountability.” The opening program will be at the Jackson Center, in its Cappa Theatre, at 305 East 4th Street in Jamestown, N.Y. Admission is free for this unique, dynamic program. Donations are welcome and appreciated. This opening program is made possible through the generosity of our donors, and specifically Blackstone-NEY Ultrasonics and the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation Whitney R. Harris Lectureship Fund.

The Joshua Heintz Award for Humanitarian Achievement will be conferred to Zainab Hawa Bangura for distinguished service to mankind and achievement in the field of international justice. Dr. Bangura was the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict from June 2012 to April 2017. Over the past two decades, Bangura has worked in the pursuit of justice for victims, of war crimes and crimes against humanity, both in her native Sierra Leone and around the world. During the civil war in Sierra Leone, she spoke out against the atrocities committed against the civilian population by the Revolutionary United Front and was targeted for assassination several times by that group. Bangura also spoke against corruption in the civilian government of President Ahmad Tejan Kabbahand and the atrocities committed against civilians by government soldiers.

University at Buffalo School of Law Dean Aviva Abramovsky will accept the award on behalf of Dr. Bangura, who will not be able to attend and receive her award in person due to the current natural disaster in Sierra Leone resulting from recent massive flooding and mudslides in mid-August causing the loss of hundreds of lives.

The first-time group interview with Andrew Cayley, Robert Petit, and Nick Koumijian, the former and current Chief International Co-Prosecutors for the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia will follow the award presentation. Each participant will discuss the unique challenges they have faced as a Chief International Prosecutor. The ECCC, commonly referred to as the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, was established by the United Nations and the Cambodian Government. Its mission is to bring to trial those responsible for atrocities committed during the Khmer Rouge regime, during which an estimated 1.7 million people were killed.

The public is also welcome at all of the IHLD seminars and lectures being held on the grounds of Chautauqua Institution on Monday and Tuesday, August 28-29. Attendance is free of charge, although purchase of Athenaeum Hotel lunch and dinner meals are required for meal time lectures.

Contact the Athenaeum Hotel, (716) 357-4444, for further information on meal purchases, and visit https://www.roberthjackson.org/article/international-humanitarian-law-dialogues/ for details on the 11th Annual International Humanitarian Law Dialogues and all previous IHLD.

The Robert H. Jackson Center is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization that envisions a global society where the universal principles of equality, fairness and justice prevail. The Center invites and engages students of all ages, scholars, educators, national officials and international dignitaries to analyze contemporary issues of peace and justice through the lens of Justice Jackson’s body of work.