On 14 June 2025, Deputy Director Dr Viviane Dittrich participated in the anniversary event “20 Years Model International Criminal Court (MICC)” organised by the Kreisau-Initiative in Berlin. Dr Katarina Barley, Vice-President of the European Parliament, has assumed the patronage of the MICC and the conference held under the motto “Human rights education still matters” in Berlin. Dr. Richard Roewer, Executive Director of the Kreisau-Initiative e.V., gave opening remarks and chaired the panel discussion “The role of education for the protection of human rights” to which Dr Dittrich had been invited as speaker.
The topics discussed spanned from the value of human rights education to changes in the contemporary human rights landscape, from memory culture and post-conflict justice to climate justice, and from the role of individuals and institutions to youth-led approaches. Fellow speakers included Judith Blum (Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future), Anne Flotho-Liersch (European Youth Parliament) and Kerim Somun (Kreisau-Initiative). In the panel, Dr Dittrich highlighted the value of moot courts for fostering critical thinking and experiential learning and invoked the Nuremberg Moot Court. She also spoke about the legacies of international criminal tribunals and the ongoing significance of the Nuremberg Principles. Also, she addressed the role of individuals, prominently referring to Judge Thomas Buergenthal and Benjamin Ferencz.
Judge Reine Alapini-Gansou, Vice-President of the International Criminal Court, gave a forceful keynote address highlighting achievements and challenges and the role of the International Criminal Court (ICC) today. In the afternoon, Dr Thijs Bouwknegt, Senior Researcher at the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, gave a lecture on “When do ICC trials matter?” with a focus on the meaning of international trials and the interplay of politics and law. In closing, Philipp Frisch, Director of Human Rights Watch Germany, gave a talk with a focus on documenting and prosecuting mass atrocities committed around the world and empowering action in the face of international crimes. (vd)