Little Pieces of History in the Making

Today we had a 12th Floor meeting. The purpose was mainly to introduce new staff and inter. While most interns started work several weeks before my arrival, this was the first time everyone on the floor has an opportunity to meet. I was able get a sense of what they are all working on, which ranges from public information to legal research, as well as introduce myself and talk a bit about the Fellowship program.

Actually the most interesting was to find out where everyone is from; there are over 25 nationalities (and all inhabited continents) represented! In my large corner office alone, there are 8 distinct nationalities. It is always nice to work in such an international context, with people from such varied backgrounds and experiences. Particularly given my international and multilingual upbringing, it is refreshing to be back in what feels like a more familiar setting.

In addition, today I met the Chief Prosecutor for the first time. While it was a brief introduction— he peeked into the room just to say hello between meetings—it was nice to finally meet in person someone I have heard so much about.

This week the office is abuzz with activity as we are all helping to prepare a very unique meeting for the end of the week. It is a sort of unofficial get-together for representatives from the prosecution teams of each international tribunal, the ICTR, ICTY, SCSL, and ECCC. The three-day workshop will facilitate a discussion about best practices in prosecution with the end product being an outline of a manual. The manual will be put together by ICC staff and then brought to the official summit that will be held in Cambodia next month.

The best practices manual is a legacy project for the ad-hoc tribunals, most of which will be winding down operations and eventually closing within the next couple of years. The topics range from speeding up trials, to managing victim participation, to conducting efficient investigations. In a way, it is a chance to record the small pearls of wisdom gleaned from 10-15 years of prosecutorial experience so that it can be passed on to the new permanent Court.Even though I will only be assisting in an administrative capacity during the workshop, I look forward to sitting in on these discussions. In a way, so much of working here is just being a witness to little pieces of history in the making.