The past decade has witnessed a profound shift in the documentation of war crimes and other serio... more The past decade has witnessed a profound shift in the documentation of war crimes and other serious international crimes. Whereas evidence collection has traditionally been conducted by legally mandated investigators, and focused on interviewing witnesses as well as gathering and preserving physical and documentary evidence, conventional forms of fact-gathering are now being supplemented by abundant digital documentation gathered by a dispersed network of individuals and organizations that represent a broad array of disciplines. This shift has been facilitated by two important developments: first, a transition in modes of information sharing from analogue to digital sources, including from older generation technologies like the telephone and fax to online platforms like TikTok and Telegram. Secondly, an increased understanding that digital documentation requires both a collaborative and multidisciplinary approach to data collection, storage, processing, analysis and presentation. In...
The use of torture during interrogations conducted by U.S. special forces, military police, CIA a... more The use of torture during interrogations conducted by U.S. special forces, military police, CIA agents, the FBI, and private contractors during the War on Terror has been widely documented. While many chroniclers of the use of torture have characterized its use as a dramatic break from the past, the use of torture by American interrogators and the tacit sanctioning by U.S. officials are not new. The routine use of torture by American domestic police during the early part of the twentieth century has been largely ignored by scholars who study contemporary uses of torture in the international context. This chapter discusses the history of the "third degree" to shed more light on the current torture debate. We note that there are numerous parallels between third degree techniques employed by American domestic interrogators in the early twentieth century and coercive techniques used by American military interrogators more recently. This domestic history of torture suggests imp...
This article presents the emerging argument that Native American tribes that have received state ... more This article presents the emerging argument that Native American tribes that have received state but not federal recognition have a legal right to engage in gaming under state law. This argument is based on five points: that 1) the regulation of gaming is generally a state right; 2) state tribes are sovereign governments with the right to game, except as preempted by the federal government; 3) federal law does not preempt gaming by state tribes; 4) state tribal gaming does not violate Equal Protection guarantees; and 5) significant policy arguments weigh in favor of gaming by state tribes under state law.
Hiding in Plain Sight tells the story of the global effort to apprehend the world’s most wanted f... more Hiding in Plain Sight tells the story of the global effort to apprehend the world’s most wanted fugitives. Beginning with the flight of tens of thousands of Nazi war criminals and their collaborators after World War II, then moving on to the question of justice following the recent Balkan wars and the Rwandan genocide, and ending with the establishment of the International Criminal Court and America’s pursuit of suspected terrorists in the aftermath of 9/11, the book explores the range of diplomatic and military strategies—both successful and unsuccessful—that states and international courts have adopted to pursue and capture war crimes suspects. It is a story fraught with broken promises, backroom politics, ethical dilemmas, and daring escapades—all in the name of international justice and human rights.
Las Camaras Extraordinarias en las Cortes de Camboya han sido el primer tribunal penal internacio... more Las Camaras Extraordinarias en las Cortes de Camboya han sido el primer tribunal penal internacional en permitir que las victimas de presuntos crimenes, mas alla de ser convocadas como testigos, intervengan como partes en los juicios. (en ingles)
Human rights investigators often review graphic imagery of potential war crimes and human rights ... more Human rights investigators often review graphic imagery of potential war crimes and human rights abuses while conducting open source investigations. As a result, they are at risk of developing secondary trauma, a condition that can produce a range of cognitive and behavioral consequences, including elevated anxiety and distress, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Human rights organizations have traditionally been slow to recognize the risk of secondary trauma. However, in recent years, several university programs offering students practical experience in open source human rights investigations have implemented training on secondary trauma mitigation. We administered a survey to students in these programs to determine whether they are implementing recommended mitigation techniques and to document what techniques they find helpful. From 33 responses, we identified six general practices as helping mitigate secondary trauma: processing graphic content, limiting exposure to ...
Human rights investigators often review graphic imagery of potential war crimes and human rights ... more Human rights investigators often review graphic imagery of potential war crimes and human rights abuses while conducting open source investigations. As a result, they are at risk of developing secondary trauma, a condition that can produce a range of cognitive and behavioral consequences, including elevated anxiety and distress, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Human rights organizations have traditionally been slow to recognize the risk of secondary trauma. However, in recent years, several university programs offering students practical experience in open source human rights investigations have implemented training on secondary trauma mitigation. We administered a survey to students in these programs to determine whether they are implementing recommended mitigation techniques and to document what techniques they find helpful. From 33 responses, we identified six general practices as helping mitigate secondary trauma: processing graphic content, limiting exposure to ...
The past decade has witnessed a profound shift in the documentation of war crimes and other serio... more The past decade has witnessed a profound shift in the documentation of war crimes and other serious international crimes. Whereas evidence collection has traditionally been conducted by legally mandated investigators, and focused on interviewing witnesses as well as gathering and preserving physical and documentary evidence, conventional forms of fact-gathering are now being supplemented by abundant digital documentation gathered by a dispersed network of individuals and organizations that represent a broad array of disciplines. This shift has been facilitated by two important developments: first, a transition in modes of information sharing from analogue to digital sources, including from older generation technologies like the telephone and fax to online platforms like TikTok and Telegram. Secondly, an increased understanding that digital documentation requires both a collaborative and multidisciplinary approach to data collection, storage, processing, analysis and presentation. In...
The use of torture during interrogations conducted by U.S. special forces, military police, CIA a... more The use of torture during interrogations conducted by U.S. special forces, military police, CIA agents, the FBI, and private contractors during the War on Terror has been widely documented. While many chroniclers of the use of torture have characterized its use as a dramatic break from the past, the use of torture by American interrogators and the tacit sanctioning by U.S. officials are not new. The routine use of torture by American domestic police during the early part of the twentieth century has been largely ignored by scholars who study contemporary uses of torture in the international context. This chapter discusses the history of the "third degree" to shed more light on the current torture debate. We note that there are numerous parallels between third degree techniques employed by American domestic interrogators in the early twentieth century and coercive techniques used by American military interrogators more recently. This domestic history of torture suggests imp...
This article presents the emerging argument that Native American tribes that have received state ... more This article presents the emerging argument that Native American tribes that have received state but not federal recognition have a legal right to engage in gaming under state law. This argument is based on five points: that 1) the regulation of gaming is generally a state right; 2) state tribes are sovereign governments with the right to game, except as preempted by the federal government; 3) federal law does not preempt gaming by state tribes; 4) state tribal gaming does not violate Equal Protection guarantees; and 5) significant policy arguments weigh in favor of gaming by state tribes under state law.
Hiding in Plain Sight tells the story of the global effort to apprehend the world’s most wanted f... more Hiding in Plain Sight tells the story of the global effort to apprehend the world’s most wanted fugitives. Beginning with the flight of tens of thousands of Nazi war criminals and their collaborators after World War II, then moving on to the question of justice following the recent Balkan wars and the Rwandan genocide, and ending with the establishment of the International Criminal Court and America’s pursuit of suspected terrorists in the aftermath of 9/11, the book explores the range of diplomatic and military strategies—both successful and unsuccessful—that states and international courts have adopted to pursue and capture war crimes suspects. It is a story fraught with broken promises, backroom politics, ethical dilemmas, and daring escapades—all in the name of international justice and human rights.
Las Camaras Extraordinarias en las Cortes de Camboya han sido el primer tribunal penal internacio... more Las Camaras Extraordinarias en las Cortes de Camboya han sido el primer tribunal penal internacional en permitir que las victimas de presuntos crimenes, mas alla de ser convocadas como testigos, intervengan como partes en los juicios. (en ingles)
Human rights investigators often review graphic imagery of potential war crimes and human rights ... more Human rights investigators often review graphic imagery of potential war crimes and human rights abuses while conducting open source investigations. As a result, they are at risk of developing secondary trauma, a condition that can produce a range of cognitive and behavioral consequences, including elevated anxiety and distress, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Human rights organizations have traditionally been slow to recognize the risk of secondary trauma. However, in recent years, several university programs offering students practical experience in open source human rights investigations have implemented training on secondary trauma mitigation. We administered a survey to students in these programs to determine whether they are implementing recommended mitigation techniques and to document what techniques they find helpful. From 33 responses, we identified six general practices as helping mitigate secondary trauma: processing graphic content, limiting exposure to ...
Human rights investigators often review graphic imagery of potential war crimes and human rights ... more Human rights investigators often review graphic imagery of potential war crimes and human rights abuses while conducting open source investigations. As a result, they are at risk of developing secondary trauma, a condition that can produce a range of cognitive and behavioral consequences, including elevated anxiety and distress, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Human rights organizations have traditionally been slow to recognize the risk of secondary trauma. However, in recent years, several university programs offering students practical experience in open source human rights investigations have implemented training on secondary trauma mitigation. We administered a survey to students in these programs to determine whether they are implementing recommended mitigation techniques and to document what techniques they find helpful. From 33 responses, we identified six general practices as helping mitigate secondary trauma: processing graphic content, limiting exposure to ...
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