We were approached by the city of The Hague and Radio Netherlands Worldwide to advise them on the organization of the third ‘The Hague Debate’ that was to be held in the Peace Palace. The challenge was to freshen up the formula of the The Hague Debates, to interest more people to visit the debate and to think of ways to make the debate more interactive.
We were approached by the city of The Hague and Radio Netherlands Worldwide to advise them on the organization of the third ‘The Hague Debate’ that was to be held in the Peace Palace. The challenge was to freshen up the formula of the The Hague Debates, to interest more people to visit the debate and to think of ways to make the debate more interactive.
The three keynote speakers for the evening were Richard Goldstone, The Hague Peace Philosopher 2009 and former Chief Prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda; Fatou Bensouda, Deputy Prosecutor, International Criminal Court; and Stephen Rapp, Chief Prosecutor at the Special Court for Sierra Leone, and the topic up for discussion was “The End of Impunity? The future of International Criminal Justice”.
We created a formula whereby the evening was cut up into three equal parts. During each part we focused on a single controversial motion that was formulated on beforehand after consultation by Roderik van Grieken with the keynote speakers. Each motion was to be introduced by Richard Goldstone in a short speech after which Roderik van Grieken interviewed Fatou Bensouda and Stephen Rapp to get insight in different perspectives on the motions. After that there was plenty of time for the audience to ask questions and/or to broadcast their own view on the motion.
The third ‘The Hague Debate’ turned out to be a success with a turnout of 400 people, mostly international law professionals with a great variety of cultural backgrounds. During two hours all participants engaged in al lively discussion with mutual respect for sometimes very different perspectives on the presented motions.
At the end of the debate Richard Goldstone publicly praised Roderik van Grieken for the manner in which he moderated the evening;
‘Roderik van Grieken did a better job tonight than most of the prosecutors that I have come across over the years!’
Richard Goldstone, Former Chief Prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda
Here you can watch parts of the debate.
MOTION 1. Investing billions in domestic justice would achieve far more than spending it on The Hague.
Watch the discussion:
MOTION 2. Prosecutors should never take political circumstances into account
Watch the discussion:
MOTION 3. The ICC will be a toothless tiger without the ratification of the major powers.
Watch the discussion:
