Global Dispatches -- World News That Matters15 Joulu 2025

When Treaties Work | The Rome Statute for the International Criminal Court

In 1998, 120 countries came together to adopt the Rome Statute, creating what would become the International Criminal Court. Four years later, that treaty entered into force, and the ICC officially opened its doors as a permanent court tasked with prosecuting individuals accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Now, looking around the world today, it's clear the ICC has not put an end to war crimes or crimes against humanity. But even so, the court—and the treaty that created it—have profoundly shaped international politics in ways that are often overlooked.

My guest today is Mark Kersten. He's a Senior Consultant with the Wayamo Foundation and an Assistant Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of the Fraser Valley in British Columbia. We start with a brief history of the ICC, and then dig into how the court has influenced not just legal definitions of war crimes and crimes against humanity, but how states themselves behave.

When we spoke, Mark had just returned from the ICC's annual Assembly of States Parties—the court's main governing body. He explains why that meeting offers a window into some of the biggest challenges the ICC now faces, including the very real possibility of U.S. sanctions—not just against individual court officials, but against the institution itself.

This episode is produced in partnership with Lex International Fund, a philanthropic initiative dedicated to strengthening international law to solve global challenges. It's part of our ongoing series highlighting the real-world impact of treaties on state behavior, called "When Treaties Work."

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(1184)

Haiti Is Getting More Dangerous. The U.S. Is Sending People Back Anyway.

Haiti's security crisis is deepening as armed gangs expand their control over territory and daily life, while a new UN-backed Gang Suppression Force begins to deploy amid major questions about whether...

14 Syys 28min

Why Yemen is Becoming the Iran War's Next Front

The Iran war is spilling over into Yemen. And now, the country is on the verge of a full-blown civil war that could drag in Saudi Arabia, Iran — and potentially the United States. Over the last severa...

8 Syys 25min

Zambia's Fraught Election and the Global Race for Copper

Zambia's election is raising fresh questions about the country's democratic trajectory — even as its vast copper reserves make it increasingly important to the global economy and to strategic competit...

3 Syys 24min

Why Oman Could Be Crucial to Ending the Iran War

Oman has long played one of the Middle East's most unusual diplomatic roles: maintaining close ties with rivals and quietly creating space for enemies to talk. Secret U.S.-Iran negotiations in Muscat ...

31 Elo 26min

Did Russia Just Cross a New Line in AI Warfare?

Last month, a Russian drone flew toward a gas station in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia. It crashed into a wall and exploded, killing three civilians. What made this strike different — and potenti...

28 Elo 37min

A Shakeup in the Race for UN Secretary-General | To Save Us From Hell

The United Nations is in the midst of selecting its next Secretary-General — and the race to succeed António Guterres just got more interesting. Last week, the Security Council held a straw poll to te...

27 Elo 29min

Why Policies to Stop Migration Often Ends Up "Aiding Autocrats"

Kelsey Norman is a Fellow for the Middle East and Director of the Women's Rights, Human Rights, and Refugees Program at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy. Her new book, Aiding Autoc...

24 Elo 23min

UN Secretary General Candidate Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett

Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett is a Guyanese diplomat and candidate for Secretary-General of the United Nations. If selected, she would become both the first woman and the first person of Indigenous descen...

20 Elo 25min