Grotius Dialogue
Grotius Dialogue Book Talk: Prosecuting the Powerful: War Crimes and the Battle for Justice
- Date
- Tuesday 1 December 2026
- Time
- Address
- Wijnhaven Building Room 2.17, Turfmarkt 99, 2511DP The Hague
International criminal justice is more in the headlines than ever before. Steve Crawshaw has worked on these themes for the past thirty years, as journalist and human rights advocate. For Prosecuting the Powerful , he travelled to Ukraine, Israel/Palestine and Syria, talking to those who are determined to achieve accountability for the crimes committed. This is an extraordinary moment for international justice: international arrest warrants have been issued for Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu. The former president of the Philippines goes on trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague at the end of November. Donald Trump wants, however, to dismantle the ICC “brick by brick”. If the ICC is destroyed, could it ever be rebuilt? The Japanese president of the ICC, Tomoko Akane, has described this as an “existential” moment. Join us on 1 December at 11:15, Turfmarkt 99 (Wijnhaven Building) Room 2.17 for a conversation on these key themes.
Steve Crawshaw is the author of Prosecuting the Powerful: War Crimes and the Battle for Justice, which was shortlisted for the Moore Human Rights Prize. He was east Europe editor and chief foreign correspondent at the Independent, and covered the wars in Bosnia and former Yugoslavia; he met Slobodan Milošević and others at that time. He was UK director at Human Rights Watch, Director of the Secretary General at Amnesty International and policy director at Freedom from Torture. He was a Visiting Fellow at the LSE Centre for the Study of Human Rights. His earlier books were on Russia, Germany and creative protest, including Street Spirit: The Power of Protest and Mischief (foreword by Ai Weiwei).