The Era of Accountability: Prosecuting Heads of State

April 30, 2009

Prosecuting Heads of State (April 23, 2009)

In 1990, an era of accountability began for former government officials and heads of state who had committed human rights violations and other abuses of power while in office. Since then, at least 69 former heads of state have been prosecuted for serious human rights violations or economic crimes.

Prosecuting Heads of State (Cambridge), edited by Ellen L. Lutz and Caitlin Reiger, explores the motivations, public dramas, and intrigues that accompanied efforts to bring them to justice. The book contains eight case studies of high-profile trials of former leaders in Europe and Latin America, including Augusto Pinochet, Alberto Fujimori, Slobodan Milosevic, Charles Taylor, and Saddam Hussein.

The editors joined a recent panel to discuss this issue. Listen above.

Evidence for Accountability

Q&A: How Open Source Evidence Is Challenging Abuses, Atrocities, and Disinformation

Five people seated on stage speaking below a projection of news stories

Bellingcat has pioneered the use of open-source research to expose human rights abuses, atrocity crimes, and high-level corruption and other criminal activities involving governments, gangs, and other illicit actors.

July 3, 2024

Event Recap

Financing Atrocity, Forging Accountability: New Strategies for International Justice

Economic crimes and grave violence often occur in tandem. But commercial companies involved in facilitating serious international crimes—or profiting from them—have rarely been held accountable by international courts.

June 7, 2019

A New Beginning

For a Better Future, Sudan Must Confront Its Past

With Omar al-Bashir no longer in power, the temptation to move beyond his regime’s crimes is understandable. But unless Sudan grapples with its past, it risks trading one corrupt dictatorship for another.

May 10, 2019 | Ezzaddean El Safi

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