A bi-weekly audio series and podcast service, hosted by Committee on Conscience Project Director Bridget Conley-Zilkic, that brings you the voices of human rights defenders, experts, advocates, and government officials. Vital voices addressing one of humanity's most vital issues. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not necessarily represent those of the Museum.
Nobel Peace Laureate Elie Wiesel discusses the importance of remembering and bearing witness.
Ambassador Morton Abramowitz, Senior Fellow at the Century Foundation and a former president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, speaks with Jerry Folwer about the current situation in Kosovo and the United Nations’ Special Envoy for Kosovo, Martti Ahtisaari's, drafted plan to resolve the region’s so called final status. Ambassador Abramowitz recently had an article in Newsweek International arguing that it is time to decide about Kosovo.
Omer Bartov, John P. Birkelund Distinguished Professor of European History at Brown University, details the legacy of Raphael Lemkin, the Jewish lawyer from Poland who coined the term genocide. He also discusses whether mass violence is different today than earlier in human existence as well as the significance of the codification since the Holocaust of international prohibitions against genocide.
This interview is the first of three that Voices on Genocide Prevention is producing in conjunction with Facing History and Ourselves. Professor Bartov will participate in an online discussion on March 12th and 13th which you can join by registering here.
Howard Wolpe, Director of the Africa Program and Leadership Project at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, speaks with Bridget Conley-Zilkic about the a post conflict training program he has instituted in Burundi, and plans to continue with in Congo and Liberia. By working with both political leaders and civil society, Howard believes this program will create lasting peace and stability in areas of past and current conflict.
Peter Balakian, Professor of English at Colgate University, is author of the best-selling book, "Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America's Response." He discusses the grassroots movement to end the genocide, the media's coverage of the events, the political responses, and the relevance it has to the crises our world faces today.
Award-winning playwright, Catherine Filloux, discusses her latest play, "Lemkin's House," with Jerry Fowler. Catherine imparts her connection with Raphael Lemkin and his legacy, and she talks about how she first got involved with the subject of mass violence.
Joining the program from Belgrade, Dr. James Lyon, the Special Balkans Advisor at the International Crisis Group, speaks with Jerry Fowler about the region, where he has been working for the past twenty-five years. He explains the complexity of Kosovo’s history and how ethnic differences remain tied into this regions’ present struggle for independence.
On a recent visit to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Bosnian President Sulejman Tihic spoke with Jerry Fowler in the Darfur Display of the Wexner Learning Center about the major challenges facing Bosnia today, dealing with the truth of Bosnia's history, accountability for war crimes, and returning displaced persons to their homes. They also discuss Bosnia's responsibility in soliciting an international response to the crisis in Darfur.
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum historian, Edna Friedberg, and Case Western Reserve University law professor Michael Scharf discuss the meaning of justice in the context of Nuremberg, the international tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and the International Criminal Court with regard to Darfur. Edna created the Museum's exhibition, "The Nuremberg Trials: What is Justice," and she speaks about the limits of justice and the limits of the law. Michael discusses the deterrant effect of the existence of a permanent International Criminal Court.
This April marks the 12th anniversary of the beginning of the Rwanda genocide. Bridget Conley-Zilkic, Project Director of the Committee on Conscience, recently talked to Louise Mushikiwabo about her new book, Rwanda Means the Universe: A Native's Memoir of Blood and Bloodlines. [33:02]
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