In honor of next week's commemoration of the Holocaust, we are returning to an episode with Leo Melamed, who fled Nazi-occupied Poland as a child. He speaks about why he, as a survivor, feels that preventing and responding to genocide today is a critical part of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's mandate.

April 7, 2009 marked the 15th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide. Joined by an international audience, Rwandans across the country gathered to commemorate the deaths of at least 500,000 people over 100 days in 1994. President Paul Kagame spoke about the need to remember, but also of the future he is trying to build for the country: “This is the constant underlying message: that while we must remember the past, history, events, and facts – we must also remember to shape our future.” Rwanda’s progress over the last fifteen years has been marked by these two poles: the memory of unimaginable violence, and the imperative to focus on the future and on building a strong, self-sufficient country. The effort to recover from the genocide has included far-reaching justice reforms and innovative legal processes for cases related to the genocide. Resilient survivors have created networks across the country, and the government has focused on educational reform, strengthening the health system, and securing economic advances. These remarkable achievements have transformed the country. To advance social and economic goals, the Rwandan government has opted to prioritize security and stability over freedom of expression and political organization. After the experience of the genocide, it is a bargain that the population seems ready to embrace for now. While reconciliation is difficult to measure, Rwandans are certainly providing a remarkable example of coexistence in the aftermath of genocide, as survivors, bystanders and perpetrators find ways to live together and move forward as a country. Visit World Is Witness to read a first-hand account of the commemoration ceremonies from Museum staff in attendance.

After 12 years of civil war marked by atrocities against civilians, what does peace mean for the people of Burundi? Peter Uvin, author of Life After Violence: A People's Story of Burundi, discusses what Burundians across the country told him about their hopes for the future and their views of each other and the state.

Adam Smith, who comes from a family of Holocaust survivors and trained as an international lawyer, discusses his book After Genocide: Bringing the Devil to Justice. The book is critical of the current system of international justice.

On March 4, 2009, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar El-Bashir. Gabrielle Kirk McDonald, formerly a judge and president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, discusses the significance of the ICC’s decision.

On March 4, 2009, a Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced its historic decision to issue an arrest warrant charging Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir with five counts of crimes against humanity and two counts of war crimes for his leadership role in orchestrating the conflict in Darfur. The charges against Mr. Bashir include murder, extermination, forcible transfer, torture, rape, intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population, and pillaging. Notably absent from the warrant is the charge of genocide. This decision marks the first time the ICC has issued an arrest warrant for a sitting head of state. Some have contended that an ICC indictment of the President of Sudan, which enforces international law and holds him accountable for his crimes, is necessary for sustained peace. Others are concerned that such an indictment could negatively impact the peace negotiations, prolonging war or perhaps even accelerating it – resulting in more deaths, sexual violence, destruction, and misery. These debates intensified in July 2008, when the ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo presented evidence of crimes to a panel of ICC judges and asked them to issue an arrest warrant for Sudanese President al-Bashir on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes for his leadership role in orchestrating violence in Darfur. The Sudanese government has said it will resist the ICC request, contending that Bashir is innocent. Two others in Sudan – Ahmad Harun, Minister in charge of security, and Ali Kushayb, a janjaweed militia leader – were indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity by the ICC in 2007. They were not considered senior enough to impact peace negotiations. Following the announcement of the arrest warrant, the Sudanese government expelled several humanitarian aid agencies from Sudan, jeopardizing the lives of millions. On March 5, 2009, the Museum issued a press statement, decrying the eviction of aid agencies in Darfur and Southern Sudan. Podcast Interviews with Experts Click here for a podcast interview with Gabrielle Kirk McDonald, formerly a judge and president of the ICTY, who discusses the significance of the ICC’s March 4 decision. Click here for a podcast interview from July with international law expert William Schabas, who discusses the decision of the prosecutor for the ICC to request an arrest warrant for President Bashir. Background on the International Criminal Court Based in The Hague, the Netherlands, the International Criminal Court (ICC) is the first permanent judicial body established to try individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. It prosecutes individuals when national courts are unable or unwilling to do so. The Court emerged from the 1998 Conference in Rome and came into force in 2002, after the 60th nation ratified the treaty. Presently, 108 state parties have joined the treaty. Heavily engaged in ICC negotiations, the United States signed the Rome Statute under the Clinton administration in 2000, but identified certain aspects of the treaty requiring further negotiation. President Clinton recommended that the Senate delay ratification until U.S. concerns were met about the treaty’s jurisdiction over nationals of states that were non-parties for acts committed on territory of states party to the treaty and the prosecutor’s authority to initiate cases on his/her own. Citing these objections, the Bush administration effectively deactivated the U.S. signature on the Rome Statute in 2002. Since 2002, the Court has received one referral from the United Nations Security Council for Darfur, Sudan and has accepted three state referrals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and the Central African Republic. In 2005, the Security Council referred allegations of crimes in Darfur to the ICC. The council referral exempted the nationals of nonparties from any claim of jurisdiction on the part of the court and consequently the U.S. abstained from vetoing the resolution. The ICC subsequently opened an investigation into the crimes committed in Darfur. Background on President Bashir Born in 1944, Omar al-Bashir orchestrated a military coup in 1989 that overthrew President Sadeq al-Mahdi’s democratically elected government. He assumed control by banning all political parties and cracking down on the press and other rights. Shortly after attaining power, Bashir appointed himself chief of state, prime minister, and minister of defense. In 1999, President Bashir consolidated his dictatorial control when he removed his chief threat: once ally and former leader of the National Islamic Front, Hassan al-Turabi, who was then serving as Speaker of the National Assembly. That same year, Bashir declared a state of national emergency, suspended the constitution, and disbanded the National Assembly. In 2004, Bashir’s government negotiated an end to the two and a half decade civil war between north and south Sudan that killed at least 2 million people, mostly civilians, and displaced more than 4 million people. Around that same time, Bashir’s government started receiving criticism for its role in Darfur, Sudan’s western province where hundreds of thousands have died and millions have lost their homes since 2003. In July 2008, the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo asked the court to issue an arrest warrant for President Bashir, charging him several counts of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes for the government’s role in orchestrating violence in Darfur.

Jerry Fowler, president of the Save Darfur Coalition, provides an overview of what international activists have done on Darfur and what issues they are currently focusing on.

Kelly Askin discusses the increasing attention paid to gender-based violence in genocidal situations. Askin is the Senior legal officer with the International Justice program at Open Society Justice Initiative.

Sudan analyst Eddie Thomas discusses the vision behind Sudan's 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement and why it remains central to the country's future. Thomas is the author of a new report from Chatham House,

As the nation approaches the swearing in of America’s 44th president, and as the 114th Congress gets underway, a group of bipartisan leaders joins the Genocide Prevention Task Force’s call for the new administration and congressional leaders to make preventing genocide and mass atrocities a national priority. The Genocide Prevention Task Force, co-chaired by former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright and former Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen, was jointly convened by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, The American Academy of Diplomacy and the United States Institute of Peace. Its recently released report, Preventing Genocide: A Blueprint for U.S. Policymakers, offers practical recommendations on how to prevent genocide and mass atrocities. “We are keenly aware that the incoming president’s agenda will be daunting from Day One. But preventing genocide and mass atrocities is not an idealistic addition to our core foreign policy agenda. It is a moral and strategic imperative,” said Secretaries Albright and Cohen. A number of influential individuals have lauded the Genocide Prevention Task Force report. Former Secretary of State James A. Baker III said of the report, The Genocide Prevention Task Force is right: When it comes to responding to genocide, the choice should not be between doing nothing and large-scale military action. The former is unconscionable; the latter is often politically impossible. But developed countries working with the United States can cooperate to agree upon early prevention strategies. An ounce of prevention may be worth a pound of cure. The task force's blueprint for preventing genocide appears to be a reasonable approach that American political leaders should consider because one thing is evident, mass atrocities and the regional instabilities sparked thereby can threaten American values and interests.” Former Secretary of State Warren Christopher commended the report, calling it a “unique blueprint for preventing genocide rather than relying on military force which always seems to come too late.” Justice Richard Goldstone, who served as Chief Prosecutor of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, said: “This is a superb report. It convincingly demonstrates that the prevention of genocide is consistent with the core values and in the national interests of the U.S.” Preventing Genocide: A Blueprint for U.S. Policymakers has also been praised by officials from a number of foreign embassies and several non-governmental organizations. The release of the report has been widely covered in national and international media. This month, the Genocide Prevention Task Force continues to brief key figures and other audiences on its findings and recommendations. The task force was funded by Humanity United and other private organizations. About the Convening Organizations: The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, a living memorial to the Holocaust, inspires citizens and leaders to confront hatred, promote human dignity and prevent genocide. Federal support guarantees the Museum’s permanence, and its far-reaching educational programs and global impact are made possible by donors nationwide. The American Academy of Diplomacy is dedicated to strengthening the resources and tools America brings to managing its diplomatic challenges, and accomplishes this through outreach programs, lectures, awards, and writing competitions. In doing so, the Academy promotes an understanding of the importance of diplomacy to serving our nation and enhancing America’s standing in the world. The United States Institute of Peace is an independent, nonpartisan, national institution established and funded by Congress. Its goals are to help prevent and resolve violent international conflicts, promote post-conflict stability and development, and increase peacebuilding capacity, tools, and intellectual capital worldwide. The Institute does this by empowering others with knowledge, skills, and resources, as well as by directly engaging in peacebuilding efforts around the globe. For more information on the Genocide Prevention Task Force, and to download a copy of the report, see: http://www.ushmm.org http://www.academyofdiplomacy.org http://www.usip.org

Forensic anthropologist Jose Pablo Baraybar has exhumed mass graves in Rwanda, Bosnia, and Kosovo. He discusses this work and his current mission, to find and identify the 15,000 missing in his native Peru.

Adapting an Israeli model for helping orphans, Anne Heyman is leading efforts to create a youth village for Rwandan orphans. She discusses the inspiration for the project and how she has managed to make it a reality.

The Museum’s John Heffernan and U.S. Institute of Peace’s Lawrence Woocher discuss the newly released report of the Genocide Prevention Task Force. The Task Force was convened by the Museum, USIP and the American Academy of Diplomacy.

In 1998, Rose Mapendo was swept up in the ethnic battles inside Democratic Republic of Congo and sent to what she describes as a death camp. Despite enormous suffering and loss, she found the courage to forgive her jailors and became the inspiration for a new organization, Mapendo International, that provides emergency help to refugees.

Adeeb Yousif is from Darfur, Sudan and has worked to document the genocide there. He first spoke with us in 2006. Now he returns to tell us about Darfur's current most pressing issues.

Listen to the amazing story of how a group of American students connected with a Sudanese student to build a better future.

The Museum’s Michael Graham tells us about a Congolese school he visited in June that was right on the front lines between rebel and government forces, protected by a few peacekeepers. With new rounds of fighting beginning in August, these civilians, and hundreds of thousands of others are at risk today.

In a special two–part podcast, Colin Thomas-Jensen and Candice Knezevic of the Enough Project update the issues in the Museum's online exhibit, Ripples of Genocide: Journey Through Eastern Congo (2003). Part one focuses on the situation on the ground, and Part Two explores regional and international responses.

In the first episode of a special two–part podcast, Colin Thomas-Jensen and Candice Knezevic of the Enough Project update the issues in the Museum's online exhibit, Ripples of Genocide: Journey Through Eastern Congo (2003). Part one focuses on the situation on the ground, and Part Two explores regional and international responses.

Salih Osman Mahmoud has risked his life to improve the human rights situation in Sudan. A native of Darfur, he worked on human rights issues in that region before joining Parliament as a member of the opposition.