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MacArthur seeks to further the development of an international system of justice and advance human rights around the globe, with a special focus on Mexico, Nigeria, and Russia.
Latest News
January 23, 2012
At a MacArthur-supported conference on the doctrine of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced his strong support for R2P and suggested that the prevention of mass atrocities will be an emphasis during his second term. Responsibility to Protect is the principle that governments have an obligation to protect their people from human rights abuses and, when they fail, the international community must step in. Prevention is one of three pillars of the R2P doctrine, along with response and rebuilding. Ban noted that, with international intervention in countries like Libya, Syria, the South Sudan and Yemen, R2P was successfully tested in 2011. Watch video of the conference »
January 6, 2012
Seven additional countries have joined the International Criminal Court and ratified the Rome Statute due, in part, to the work of MacArthur grantee the Coalition for the International Criminal Court. The addition of the new member states — Tunisia, the Philippines, Grenada, Maldives, Vanuatu, Central African Republic, and Cape Verde — will further strengthen the effectiveness of the Court. More »
November 4, 2011
George Washington University’s National Security Archive was recently featured on PRI’s The World to discuss the progress being made to advance accountability for atrocity crimes committed during some of Latin America’s most notorious dictatorships in Brazil, Uruguay and Chile. A long-time MacArthur grantee, the Archive has played an important role for years in helping to gain access to declassified US Government documents – obtained through the Freedom of Information Act – and building the case for accountability for large-scale human rights abuses in several countries in Latin America and around the world. More »
July 4, 2011
Arrested in the Mexican state of Guerrero in 1999 for murder, Pedro Gatica — another victim of excessive and unwarranted delays in Mexico's criminal proceedings — has finally been acquitted and released after MacArthur grantee ASILEGAL came to his defense. Gatica's attorneys cited gross violations of procedural rights, including incorrect assessment of evidence, lack of access to an interpreter, and discrimination. As of November 2010, ASILEGAL estimates that more than half the people held in Guerrero's prisons were still awaiting final verdicts in their cases. More »
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