Moral Harm in Cultural Heritage Destruction. The Case of Al Mahdi and Timbuktu at the International Criminal Court, ICC

On January 16, 2013, the International Criminal Court (ICC) began a formal investigation into the destruction of Cultural Heritage sites in Timbuktu, Mali that was perpetrated under the direction of Ahmad al-Faqi Al-Mahdi. For the first time ever, these atrocities would be considered war crimes and would be brought before the ICC. Reparations are connected to other innovative approaches in this current legal scenario, such as moral harm (individual and collective). It seems relevant and fascinating, but also truly disturbing when considering the backgrounds of the victims ... and the perpetrators (e.g. their refugee trajectories in Algeria, Mauritania and Libya, their focus on education, their exposure to poverty and vulnerability, etc).

In this talk, Dr. Arancha Garcia del Soto will discuss the eye-witness reports on collective damage that she presented to the ICC during Al Mahdi’s trial.

Dinner will be served. Please RSVP to [email protected] by Tuesday, April 9th so we can account for you in the dinner order.

About Dr. Arancha Garcia del Soto: Arancha (Araceli) García del Soto does community and human rights work with populations impacted by violence in different continents. She collaborates with the International Criminal Court (ICC), Equitas-Colombia (families of the disappeared), and NGOs in Africa, Latin America, Sri Lanka and Spain. She supports research, trainings and applied work on (1) Psychosocial work and community well-being, (2) Gender and SGBV- Sexual Gender based Violence, and (3) Human Rights.

Sponsored by The Center for Peace and Global Citizenship

For more info, contact Stephanie Zukerman at [email protected] / 610-795-6492