Former Nuremberg prosecutor speaks at first ICC trial
On Aug. 25, Benjamin B. Ferencz ’43, who served as a chief prosecutor in the Nuremberg Trials, made the concluding remarks for the prosecution in the International Criminal Court’s first case. Thomas Lubanga is charged by the court’s prosecutor with systematically recruiting children under the age of 15 to fight and perpetrate brutalities for his militia during the Democratic Republic of Congo’s five-year civil war. Ferencz, who has been a strong advocate for the establishment of the ICC, told the courtroom, “Let the voice and the verdict of this esteemed global court now speak for the awakened conscience of the world.” As a prosecutor in the Nuremberg Trials, Ferencz convicted 22 Nazi officials charged with murdering more than 1 million people. He has written extensively on the importance of a permanent international criminal tribunal to ensure enforcement of international law.