WCRO Director Susana SáCouto attends the 2023 American Society of International Law (ASIL) 117th Annual Meeting and participates in three separate panels. Director SáCouto serves as the moderator of a panel entitled "A Hopeful Conversation: Overcoming impunity for sexual and gender based violence." During the "Women in International Law Interest Group (WILIG)" Business Meeting, Director SáCouto is awarded the Scholarship Prize for the book "Gender and International Criminal Law," with co-editors Valerie Oosterveld and Indira Rosenthal, and serves as a speaker on a panel discussion focused on how gender has become part of the mainstream of international law, how that mainstream sometimes misunderstands gender, and how gender is still excluded from the mainstream in certain ways. Finally, Director SáCouto serves as a panelist in the Closing Plenary entitled "Pursuing Global Accountability for Atrocity Crimes: Needs, Challenges and the Path Forward."

The War Crimes Research Office (WCRO), the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (Academy) and the Latin American Network for Gender-based Strategic Litigation (ReLeG) hosts the Workshop on Strategic Litigation on Gender-Based Violence in Latin America (3ra Mesa de Discusión sobre Litigio Estratégico en Materia de Violencia de Género en América Latina) at WCL on March 23 and 24, 2023. This conference, funded by UN Women and supported by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), convenes 44 Latin American legal professionals who work to promote accountability for sexual violence and other forms of gender violence. The event includes ReLeG members from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Peru, El Salvador, Mexico and Venezuela, as well as legal professionals from Brazil, Nicaragua, and Uruguay.

WCRO Director Susana SáCouto moderates an International Suite Talk on "The Practice of International Courts: Cross-fertilization, Cooperation and Competition Among International Courts and Tribunals" with Chiara Giorgetti, Professor of Law at University of Richmond School of Law and Rebecca Hamilton, Professor of Law at Washington College of Law. The discussion focuses on the recently published book "Beyond Fragmentation," edited by Chiara Giorgetti, and Mark Pollack, Professor of Political Science and Jean Monnet Chair at Temple University.

On February 14, 2023, the War Crimes Research Office co-sponsored "The Evolution of International Criminal Procedure: From Genocide to Ecocide | A Conversation with Giovanni Chiarini." Giovanni Chiarini, an Italian Attorney, International Law Scholar, and Scholar in Residence at Texas Tech University School of Law, presented a lecture on international criminal tribunals from Nuremberg and Tokyo up to the establishment of the ICC in the Hague. The event was sponsored alongside the Tech, Law and Security Program (TLS), the Office of International and Comparative Legal Studies (ICLS), and the International Law Student Association (ILSA).

The War Crimes Research Office hosts a discussion by current and former WCL students from Myanmar, Thi Thi Han and Alex Kaung Myet Ahkar, to discuss the current situation in Myanmar and recent developments in justice and accountability efforts. Access more resources on Myanmar:

Read more about the WCRO's accomplishments this year.

The War Crimes Research Office invites you to an interactive session on the 2023 Hague Summer Law Program with Professor SáCouto and alums of the program. All JD/LLM students and international students are invited to attend the session on November 30 at 12:00pm in Room Y403! Summer Program Alums Ben Crawford (Hague Program 2022) and Natalie Landau (Hague Program 2022) will be joining us to share their experience and answer your questions ! Please RSVP here:

The newly published book "Gender and International Criminal Law," co-edited by WCRO Director Susana SáCouto, Valerie Oosterveld, and Indira Rosenthal, receives the American Society of International Law (ASIL) Women in International Law Interest Group (WILIG) Scholarship Prize for Best Book. The prize recognizes excellence in international scholarship surrounding women and girls, gender, and feminist topics.

The War Crimes Research Office, in partnership with AU International Law Review, hosts a luncheon panel on "Assessing International Justice: Ukraine and Beyond" as part of the International Legal Studies Program's 40th Anniversary Celebrations. WCRO Director Susana SáCouto moderates the panel, which features video remarks by Karim A. A. Khan KC (Prosecutor of the ICC), followed by remarks by Judge Ivana Hrdlicková (President of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon), Diane Orentlicher (Professor of Law, AUWCL), Christian De Vos (Director of Research and Investigations at Physicians for Human Rights).

WCRO Director Susana SáCouto attends the Women and International Law conference gathered at the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for Procedural Law on October 13-14. The event features discussion of the contributions for the forthcoming “Handbook on Women and International Law,” to be published by Oxford University Press. Director SáCouto serves as a panelist, presenting on "Feminist Approaches to Victim Witnesses and Victim Participants in Atrocity Crime Trials for Sexual and Other Forms of Gender-based Violence: Lessons Learned from Domestic Prosecutions in Latin America."

WCRO Director Susana SáCouto discusses the possibility of prosecuting Russian leaders with atrocity crimes and aggression in the context of the war in Ukraine in an interview by Radio Free Europe's Expose programme, entitled "Prosecution of Russian leaders - difficult, but possible".

WCRO Director Susana SáCouto joins Claudia Martin, the co-director of the Academy of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at AUWCL, and Daniela Kravetz, a lawyer specializing in human rights, international criminal law, and gender violence, to discuss the Latin American Network of Strategic Gender Litigation that emerged as a result of their conference at Bellagio Center in 2017. Scroll down Bulletin to access their story at:

Sydney Centre for International Law hosts a launch of the book "Gender and International Criminal Law" co-edited by Prof. Susana SáCouto, Prof. Valerie Oosterveld and Indira Rosenthal. In the panel, participants heard from some of the book's Australian authors and participated in a live 'question and answer' session with all panelists.

On July 14, 2022, Oxford University Press published Gender and International Criminal Law, edited by Prof. SáCouto with Prof. Valerie Oosterveld and Indira Rosenthal. The book provides an in-depth examination of how gender is perceived and analyzed in international criminal law, identifies key gaps in the understanding of gender within international criminal law, and offers recommendations for how gender, including sexual violence and other gender-based crimes, can be more meaningfully addressed by international courts and tribunals.

On July 6, 2022, WCRO Director SáCouto serves as a panelist on a panel organized by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) entitled "Justice and Accountability for Khmer Rouge Atrocities: Perspectives from the United States and Cambodia." This event was part of a series highlighting themes from “Imagine: Reflections on Peace,” a multimedia exhibit from USIP and the VII Foundation that explores the themes and challenges of peacebuilding through an immersive look at societies that suffered — and survived — violent conflict. The recording of the session is available at:

WCRO Director SáCouto is interviewed for an article by Jesse Greenspan, entitled: "What Is a War Crime?" For centuries—and especially since World War II—countries have attempted to define the rules of war and determine punishment for violators.

WCRO Director SáCouto is interviewed on KPCC - NPR News for Southern California AirTalk with Larry Mantle in a segment on: The Latest On Ukraine, Plus Is Putin Committing War Crimes?

Read more about the WCRO's accomplishments this year.

Registration is open now for the Summer Program in International Criminal Law and International Legal Approaches to Terrorism! (The Hague Program) This year's program will run online from June 1-25, and gives students the opportunity to interface with key practitioners, experts, and institutions in international law. Click "read more" to learn more!