The inhuman stain: representing humanity in international criminal law

Corrias, Luigi

doi:10.1017/cbo9781107257139.005

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Still, the idea that perpetrators of mass atrocity are different from the rest of us thrives in legal and popular opinion. Acknowledging their humanity may be frightening; it forces us to reckon with the idea that, if they are capable of committing these horrible crimes, then perhaps we are capable of the same (see, e.g., Browning, 2001;Corrias, 2014;p. 42;Drakulic, 2004, p. 166;Klabbers, 2001, p. 249;Mohamed, 2015b;Smeulers, 2008, p. 234;Smeulers & Werner, 2010, p. 24).…”

Section: Note On Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Traumatized War Criminal? Documenting the Case of Esad Landžo

Simić

2020

International Criminal Justice Review

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Perpetrators’ voices have been traditionally ignored in the transitional justice field and beyond. Esad Landžo was only 19 when he committed the crimes of willful killing, torturing, and causing serious injury to the detainees of notorious Čelebići camp in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 2001, Landžo was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia for the crimes he committed in 1992. After serving two thirds of his sentence in 2006 and settling in Finland, Landžo and the Danish filmmaker, Lars Feldballe Petersen, embarked on the project of making a documentary movie about Landžo’s traumatic memories, remorse, and regret. Landžo had a strong urge to extend his apology to each victim individually and in 2015 went to Čelebići to meet his former detainees. This article will build on a scarce conversation in scholarly, and legal discourse, as to why psychological trauma is considered to be an experience that belongs to victims. It will analyze difficult and untold perpetrators’ experiences of criminal acts and explore whether in these experiences there is potential for inner and group understanding. This article draws on the author’s interviews with Landžo, the main protagonist in the movie The Unforgiven: A War’s Criminal Remorse, a film that documents the extraordinary story of Landžo: from his denial to redemption.

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Section: Note On Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Traumatized War Criminal? Documenting the Case of Esad Landžo

Simić

2020

International Criminal Justice Review

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“…Humanity as an ideological project that serves colonial expansion and control echoes Schmitt (), but his warnings have been largely ignored by the project of liberal humanitarianism (Corrias ). Schmitt (, 54) writes, “humanity is an especially useful ideological instrument of imperialist expansion.” He suggests that for “liberal‐individualistic doctrines,” humanity is not a political concept because it is a “universal, i.e., all‐embracing, social ideal” (55).…”

Section: Humanity and The Colonial Encountermentioning

confidence: 99%

Dehumanization in War and Peace: Encounters with Lebanon's Ex‐Militia Fighters

Hermez

2019

American Anthropologist

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Between 2006 and 2009, I attended various peacebuilding and antiwar events in Lebanon, from dialogue sessions and workshops to lectures and demonstrations. One refrain at these events was that war should be avoided because it was dehumanizing or, in a slightly different form, that it results in a loss of humanity. Alongside these gatherings, I conducted interviews and ethnographic fieldwork with former militia fighters from Lebanon's war (1975)(1976)(1977)(1978)(1979)(1980)(1981)(1982)(1983)(1984)(1985)(1986)(1987)(1988)(1989)(1990). Together, these encounters led me to question notions of dehumanization in discourses of war and peace. Did war dehumanize? Did dehumanization lead to war? Did perpetrators lose their humanity through acts of killing? Did their actions stem from the dehumanization of the other? This article explores these questions and interrogates the notion of humanity. I argue that in allowing the notion of humanity to shape our politics, and in centering the loss of humanity in discourses of war and peace, both war and peace are invariably depoliticized. [war, dehumanization, combatants, humanity, Lebanon] RESUMEN Entre 2006 y 2009, asistí a varios eventos de construcción de paz y contra la guerra en el Líbano, desde sesiones de diálogo y talleres hasta conferencias y demostraciones. Un estribillo en estos eventos era que la guerra debería ser evitada porque era deshumanizante o en una forma ligeramente diferente, que resulta en una pérdida de humanidad. Junto a estas reuniones, conduje entrevistas y trabajo etnográfico con excombatientes de la milicia de la guerra del Líbano (1975Líbano ( -1990. En conjunto, estos encuentros me llevaron a cuestionar las nociones de deshumanización en discursos de guerra y paz. ¿La guerra deshumaniza? ¿La deshumanización llevó a la guerra? ¿Los perpetradores perdieron su humanidad a través de actos de matanza? ¿Sus acciones provinieron de la deshumanización del otro? Este artículo explora estas preguntas e interroga la noción de humanidad. Argumento que al permitir que la noción de humanidad le de forma a nuestra política, y al centrar la pérdida de humanidad en discursos de guerra y paz, tanto la guerra como la paz invariablemente se despolitizan. [guerra, deshumanización, combatientes, humanidad, Líbano]

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Crimes Against Humanity, Dehumanization and Rehumanization: Reading the Case of Duch with Hannah Arendt

Corrias¹

2016

Can. J. Law Jurisprud.

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The concept of humanity takes up a prominent place in the discourse on international (criminal) law. It remains, however, unclear what exactly is meant by an invocation of humanity. In this article, I aim to contribute to an elucidation of this concept. For this purpose, I will first analyse how the concept of crimes against humanity and the related notions of dehumanization and rehumanization are employed in the case of Duch, the chairman of the infamous Cambodian S-21 prison which functioned under the Khmer Rouge. Second, I will put these findings in a philosophical context. Building on the work of Hannah Arendt, I will devise a conceptual framework to analyse crimes against humanity, dehumanization and rehumanization in order to tease out what is at issue in the concept of humanity in international (criminal) law.

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The inhuman stain: representing humanity in international criminal law

Cited by 3 publications

References 6 publications

Traumatized War Criminal? Documenting the Case of Esad Landžo

Traumatized War Criminal? Documenting the Case of Esad Landžo

Dehumanization in War and Peace: Encounters with Lebanon's Ex‐Militia Fighters

Crimes Against Humanity, Dehumanization and Rehumanization: Reading the Case of Duch with Hannah Arendt

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