Dehai News

Rwanda genocide justice | Company accountability | Mory Kanté

Posted by: The Conversation Global

Date: Wednesday, 03 June 2020

 

Some things can’t be put on hold as the world tries to wrestle the latest coronavirus pandemic to the ground. This includes the quest for justice, be it political or economic. The arrest in France of one of the alleged lynchpins of the Rwandan genocide, Félicen Kabuga, was met with excitement that justice was finally going to be served. But the reaction has subsequently been tempered. As Kerstin Carlson warns, there are a number of reasons why Kabuga’s case doesn’t represent a simple triumph for justice. One is his age. He’s 84, a fact that his attorneys are bound to use to argue that he’s too frail to stand trial. A second is that there is likely to be a tussle about where he should stand trial - Rwanda, Tanzania or France.

Justice of a very different kind is examined by Sam Varvastian. He writes about a UK Supreme Court ruling passed down last year that could send an interesting precedent when it comes to corporate accountability for climate change. The court ruling - against a London-based mining firm - established that UK parent companies can be held liable under UK law for the actions of their foreign subsidiaries.

Mory Kanté was a legend. The Guinean-born composer and multi-instrumentalist had a singing voice of heart-rending beauty and an individual style on the West African harp, the Kora. Lucy Durán describes his legacy, and why he’s being mourned so deeply.

Julius Maina

Regional Editor East Africa

The date of arrest and a red cross marked on the face of Felicien Kabuga on a wanted poster at the Genocide Fugitive Tracking Unit office in Kigali, Rwanda, on May 19, 2020. (Photo by Simon Wohlfahrt/ AFP via Getty Images)

What Kabuga’s arrest means for international criminal justice – and Rwanda

Kerstin Carlson, University of Southern Denmark

Given the contested success of transitional justice in Rwanda, the arrest showcases the mixed record of international justice.

Victoria Falls viewed from Zambia. A case brought by Zambian farmers in UK courts could have international implications. FCG / shutterstock

Can UK fossil fuel companies now be held accountable for contributing to climate change overseas?

Sam Varvastian, Cardiff University

How Zambian farmers won the right to pursue claims in UK courts – and why UK polluters should be worried

Pedro Ruiz/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images

Mory Kanté, Guinea’s hero, found new ways of playing the old music

Lucy Durán, SOAS, University of London

His single Yeke Yeke was the first African song to pass a million in sales, but it's meaning was best understood in Guinea, home of the griot and kora star.

Politics + Society

Africans are concerned about ills of social media but oppose government restrictions

Jeffrey Conroy-Krutz, Michigan State University

While more people are using the internet and social media during the pandemic, they aren’t entirely happy with what they see.

Rolling lockdowns could protect both economies and health in low-income countries

Rajiv Chowdhury, University of Cambridge

In lower-income countries, 50-day cycles of lockdown with relaxed periods in between could strike a balance between controlling the virus and getting economies running again.

George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery deaths: Racism causes life-threatening conditions for black men every day

Shervin Assari, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science

Police killings of black men gain widespread attention, but black men's life-and-death issues are ignored on a daily basis, a physician who studies health gaps explains.

India’s coronavirus pandemic shines a light on the curse of caste

Sumit Ganguly, Indiana University

Dalits have long been ostracized as the 'untouchables' in Indian society. Discrimination and the impact of the coronavirus have only reinforced their status.

Science + Technology

Evolution: why it seems to have a direction and what to expect next

Matthew Wills, University of Bath

Evolution seems to lead to increasing complexity of species. But perhaps a dominant, intelligent species like humans will always end up destroying itself.

Archaeology is changing, slowly. But it’s still too tied up in colonial practices

Robyn Humphreys, University of Cape Town; June Bam-Hutchison, University of Cape Town; Rebecca Ackermann, University of Cape Town

There are some moves towards recognising and redressing archaeology's colonial history.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Dr. Fikrejesus Amahazion at the XXIX International Rosa Luxemburg Conference in Berlin on January

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