Law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress
WRITTEN BY Ciska Wittouck, Freya Vander Laenen, Stijn Vandevelde, Sara Rowaert, Natalie Aga, Sofie Van Roeyen, Kurt Audenaert, Wouter Vanderplasschen, Tom Vander Beken
This essay describes
lived-experience based strategies for persons with mental illness who offended
(PMIO) and their families. These recommendations are derived from the results
of a multidisciplinary research project which aimed to develop
multidisciplinary strengths-based strategies for PMIO and their families.1,2
These recommendations can inspire a broad range of practitioners and policy
makers from the criminal justice system as well as the mental health systems
working with PMIO and their family.
Innovative approaches in countering violent extremism are not only a question of philosophy, but also of pragmatism. We need a new dialogue to strategize how to establish a consensus/springboard from which to reinforce local, national and global security. We don’t need to analyse what has not worked, but actually focus on analysing what is working.
WRITTEN BY Bettina Tucci Bartsiotas - Director a.i. of UNICRI
The
development of modern technologies along with the acceleration of globalization
and increasing inequalities are generating new paradigms and unpredictable
risks. This has huge impact on populations all over the world. Today, millions
of people are coping with crises stemming from climate change, violent
extremism, organized crime, and a general lack of vision on how to develop
sustainable responses. Threats, uncertainties and socioeconomic disparities,
and the need for new effective and innovative approaches are symbiotic in every
corner of the world.
WRITTEN BY Pierluigi Casale, Vladimir Osin, Grazina Raguckaja and Giulia Violatto
“All our knowledge begins with senses, proceeds to the understanding and ends with reason.”
Introduction
For Immanuel Kant, our senses are the gate to perceive
information from the environment and to generate our knowledge. Yet, in the age
of advanced technology, our senses are easily becoming subject of manipulation.
In such context, the fundamental question arises whether we, humans with
manipulated sense, can continue relying on our own decision making. There has
been an unprecedent progress in the quality of techniques for human image
synthesis based on Artificial Intelligence
(AI), which can manipulate our sense of sight. Deepfakes constitutes the
most famous example of it. In just few years, many alarming examples of fake
content have involved politicians, governments, technology leaders, and media
celebrities. What does this mean for our future, the future of our societies
and the future of our countries? What will this manipulation entail at the
moment we exercise our rights as citizens and voters?
Eight to twelve million tons of plastics end up in the
oceans every year. One of the targets of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG),
Goal 14 on life below water, calls upon states to prevent and significantly
reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities,
including marine debris, by 2025. Following China’s ban of all imports of non-industrial
plastic wastes in 2018, exports of plastic wastes by high-income countries have
shifted to South East Asian countries putting unbearable stress on their waste
management systems. Despite worldwide attention devoted to the ocean plastics
crisis, these practices are likely to aggravate the problem. It shows that
current efforts are not sufficient to achieve the SDG target 14 for marine
plastic litter and microplastics.
On the 9th of November 2019, we celebrated the 30th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall, an event which has become a global icon for positive, disruptive change, a symbol of reunification and justice.
For Save the Dream, an organisation working to promote
safe access to sport and its educational and social values, the temptation to
associate the power of sport with the demolition of the Berlin Wall and any
other barrier between or within nations was so strong that it resulted in the
launch of the global campaign “When Sport Breaks Down
Walls”, in cooperation with the International Olympic Truce Center
(IOTC) and the support of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC).
WRITTEN BY Jafar Javan, Former UNICRI Director a.i.
What does really justice mean? Is there a justice for all? The etymology associates the word justice to righteousness, equity and just behaviour. Over the centuries, justice has been always considered as a central virtue to both the moral and political dimensions of societies.
Since it was first addressed as the right to know the fate of missing and dead persons under international humanitarian law,(1) the idea of a ‘right to truth’ has gradually expanded into other fields of law such as human rights law and international criminal law.(2)
According to Greek mythology, chimeras were monstrous hybrid creatures made up of the parts of different animals, usually a lion, a goat and a snake. These monsters were regarded as nature’s abortions and their appearance was considered an omen for disaster.
WRITTEN BY Ahmed Shaheed, United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief
In age of rising incitement to violence based on religion or belief it would be useful to examine the great potential of interfaith dialogue to prevent and mitigate the advocacy of religious hatred. In fact, this type of dialogue can play a positive role on several fronts.
Introduction
On 19 November 2015, following two specially-crafted agreements with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the International Criminal Court (ICC) has transferred two of its convicted defendants, Congolese nationals Thomas Lubanga Dylio and Germain Katanga, to serve the remainder of their sentences in a national prison facility in DRC.(1)
Somewhere in the world, there is a national health crisis. Doctors quickly receive the life-saving pharmaceuticals. However, the “pharmaceuticals” are counterfeits containing a combination of toxic chemicals and are powerless against the pandemic.
“…Those who use weapons and resources and violate human rights are as guilty as those who collaborate in business with them. Both groups should face tangible sanctions, investigations and criminal trials.”(1)
Whether in times of peace or during armed conflict, trade occurs, which sometimes leads to serious, systematic and widespread economic crimes.
Colombia, 19th June 1991: Pablo Escobar turns himself in, a few hours after a Constituent Assembly overturned the extradition of Colombian nationals. Seven years of terrorism and political murders perpetrated by the Medellin Cartel and “The Extraditables”, whose motto was “we prefer a tomb in Colombia, than a dungeon in the US”, were over. That day, Colombia knelt down to the narcos: with no extradition law, no money laundering legislation, no international judiciary cooperation and a level of corruption that had reached the highest instances of power.
