BOB KERREY, FORMER U.S. SENATOR AND PRESIDENT OF NEW SCHOOL,
TO DELIVER KEYNOTE SPEECH ON APRIL 25

Speakers include Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, Former U.S. Representative
to the United Nations; Justice Richard Goldstone, Chief Prosecutor
for International Criminal Court for Rwanda; and many distinguished others

(New York, NY – April 2, 2002) What is the response of the U.S. and other nations to human rights abuses, war crimes, and acts of terrorism? What is the role of international tribunals? How does the training of the military instill respect for the Geneva Conventions? What has been the role of the U.S. in the evolution of new forms of international criminal jurisdictions?

International Justice, War Crimes and Terrorism: The U.S. Record, a three-day conference at New School University, will address events in Vietnam, Bosnia, Rwanda, Kosovo, New York City, and the Middle East, discussing how the national and international community, including the United States, responds to war crimes and terrorist acts through legal, political, military, and other means. The 23 conference participants from the U.S. and other countries will include:

• Bob Kerrey, former U.S. senator and current New School University President in the keynote speech on Terrorism, April 25, 6:00 P.M.;
  
• Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, former United States Representative to the United Nations, Clinton Administration, and Michael Walzer, author of Just and Unjust Wars on "Just and Unjust War";
  
• Philip Gourevitch, staff writer at the New Yorker, and Michael Ignatieff, Director of the Carr Center for Human Rights at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, on "Defining and Responding to Terrorism";
  
• Justice Richard Goldstone, former Chief Prosecutor, International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, on "International Law and Justice";
  
• Aryeh Neier, President of the Open Society Institute, on "Punishment of War Crimes and Atrocities: National and International Tribunals";
  
• Theodor Meron, U.S. Justice at the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague, moderating a panel discussion on "New and Emerging Issues in the Prosecution of War Crimes and Acts of Terrorism".
  

The conference, which is free and open to the public, has been organized by Professor Arien Mack, Editor of Social Research journal. The conference opens on Thursday morning, April 25, 2002, with remarks by Professor Mack and Kenneth Prewitt, Dean of the Graduate Faculty and former Director of the U.S. Census Bureau. It will run through Saturday morning, April 27, 2002, and will take place at the New School University's Tishman Auditorium, 66 West 12th Street, New York, NY.

"We are defining terrorism as acts of violence against innocent civilians, which may or may not be part of an officially declared war," said Professor Mack, Marrow Professor of Psychology at the Graduate Faculty and director of the Social Research conference series. "The conference presents a wide-angle view on how war crimes, terrorism and other atrocities are and ought to be dealt with, and reinforces the University's commitment to advancing the possibility of global justice and the protection of human rights."

"The events of September 11th have made it painfully clear that we must continue building a global system of justice in which war crimes and acts of terrorism will be prosecuted by a variety of international and national jurisdictions," Professor Mack said. "The United States has already made important contributions to this effort, beginning with the Nuremberg Trials and the drafting of the Geneva Conventions. Now more than ever it is essential that we continue our involvement in shaping international agreements on international justice and human rights."

For further information or reservations, call 212-229-2488 or visit the conference web site at www.socres.org/justice.

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The Graduate Faculty of Political and Social Science, a division of New School University, awards M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in anthropology, economics, philosophy, political science, psychology, and sociology. In addition, interdisciplinary M.A. programs are offered in historical studies and liberal arts. The Graduate Faculty has an enrollment of about 1,050 students. International students comprise nearly 30% of the student body and come from about 70 different countries. For further information on the Graduate Faculty, call (212) 229-5777 or go to the Web site at: www.newschool.edu

New School University, with 7,000 matriculated students and 25,000 continuing education students, is a New York City university comprised of a liberal arts foundation of three schools: The New School, Graduate Faculty of Political and Social Science, and Eugene Lang College and five professional schools: Parsons School of Design, Mannes College of Music, Milano Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy, Jazz and Contemporary Music Program, and Actors Studio Drama School. New School Online University offers one of the largest selections of online courses in the nation. For further information about admission to New School University, call (877) 528-3321 or go to the Web site at www.newschool.edu.

Press contacts:

New School University:
Lauren Erlichman, (212) 229-5667, ext. 206
[email protected]
Gloria Gottschalk, (212) 229-5667, ext. 239
[email protected]