Despite international laws like the Geneva Convention, war crimes are still being committed, said Anthony Dworkin, executive director of the Crimes of War project during an event yesterday at the Washington College of Law.
"It should be recognized as such and called by its name," he said.
The event coincided with the release of "Crimes of War 2.0: What the Public Should Know," which was co-edited by WCL adjunct professor Roy Gutman.
The rules governing torture and human rights seem to be in flux, Gutman said.
"We hear waterboarding is not torture, terrorists are not civilians under the law and we also hear that keeping prisoners in dark cells for years and years is not forced removal and false imprisonment," he said.
This is the context where the stakes are higher and central political questions should be asked of the 2008 presidential candidates, Gutman said.
"These are the things they should be talking about," he said.
Because so many extraordinary events relate to current international humanitarian law, "Crimes of War 2.0" has been substantially updated, Dworkin said.
"It made us all aware of all the many significant elements that have taken place," he said.
"Crimes of War" is a book that examines the responsibilities and consequences of states that fail to uphold international laws meant to protect citizens from torture.
Events in Rwanda and Bosnia in the early 1990s inspired Gutman to write this book on humanitarian laws and how it relates to captured prisoners. The book also deals with what activists, journalists and others could do to help continue the debate on the idea of dealing with universal jurisdiction and the elements of humanitarian laws, he said.
The Bush administration proved the value of the law by doing away with it, he said.
"Guantanamo is a black hole and a black eye for the United States," Gutman said. "They fail to understand that it is not the binding nature of the law, but the concepts of the law, which is based on history and which makes the law so valuable."
Some positive changes have included the war crimes jurisprudence in Uganda and Yugoslavia, Dworkin said.
"These cases are improving and moving forward, and this is a positive change," he said.
Hena Schommer, a student in WCL, said she had a strong interest in the topic.
"It was very informative, and it captured the transition taking place between the two editions," she said. "It was a reconnection of everything I learned as an undergrad"
