Mark Kersten
@markkersten.bsky.social
Work in human rights, international criminal law, and accountability for mass atrocities - in Canada and around the world.
Professor and advocate.
www.markkersten.com
Professor and advocate.
www.markkersten.com
Pinned
Mark Kersten
@markkersten.bsky.social
· Aug 2
Now available for all to read, open access and free, at JiC.
To understand Genocide in Gaza and elsewhere, we need to talk about it as a process not an event: justiceinconflict.org/2025/08/02/t...
To understand Genocide in Gaza and elsewhere, we need to talk about it as a process not an event: justiceinconflict.org/2025/08/02/t...
"Some of them were my friends."
Skeleton racer Heraskevych displays images of athletes killed in Ukraine war on his helmet www.cbc.ca/sports/olymp... #MilanoCortinaOlympic2026 #UkraineWar
Skeleton racer Heraskevych displays images of athletes killed in Ukraine war on his helmet www.cbc.ca/sports/olymp... #MilanoCortinaOlympic2026 #UkraineWar
Skeleton racer Heraskevych displays images of athletes killed in Ukraine war on his helmet | CBC Sports
Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych trained on Monday at the Milano-Cortina Games in a helmet with images of compatriots killed during the war in Ukraine, delivering on a promise to use t...
www.cbc.ca
February 9, 2026 at 10:12 PM
"Some of them were my friends."
Skeleton racer Heraskevych displays images of athletes killed in Ukraine war on his helmet www.cbc.ca/sports/olymp... #MilanoCortinaOlympic2026 #UkraineWar
Skeleton racer Heraskevych displays images of athletes killed in Ukraine war on his helmet www.cbc.ca/sports/olymp... #MilanoCortinaOlympic2026 #UkraineWar
Reposted by Mark Kersten
When I argue little academic interest goes into the ICC Assembly of States Parties, I usually use the amendment regime as a sobering example.
This is the latest, when amendments affect internal accountability as a Prosecutor is investigated ⤵️
opiniojuris.org/2026/02/09/s...
This is the latest, when amendments affect internal accountability as a Prosecutor is investigated ⤵️
opiniojuris.org/2026/02/09/s...
Strengthening Internal Accountability at the International Criminal Court? The 2025 Amendments to the Rules of Procedure and Evidence
[Ezequiel Jimenez Martinez has a PhD in International Law (Middlesex University, United Kingdom), works at Amnesty International and is Senior Fellow at the Center for International Law Research an…
opiniojuris.org
February 9, 2026 at 7:47 PM
When I argue little academic interest goes into the ICC Assembly of States Parties, I usually use the amendment regime as a sobering example.
This is the latest, when amendments affect internal accountability as a Prosecutor is investigated ⤵️
opiniojuris.org/2026/02/09/s...
This is the latest, when amendments affect internal accountability as a Prosecutor is investigated ⤵️
opiniojuris.org/2026/02/09/s...
"Putting sanctions on judges and prosecutors who are just doing their job is disgraceful."
This Canadian #ICC judge knows firsthand the impact of being targeted by Trump's America : apple.news/AX3mvYqrtQ26... #cdnpoli
This Canadian #ICC judge knows firsthand the impact of being targeted by Trump's America : apple.news/AX3mvYqrtQ26... #cdnpoli
This Canadian judge knows firsthand the impact of being targeted by Trump's America — Toronto Star
Kimberly Prost is one of several judges and prosecutors at the International Criminal Court being sanctioned by the Trump administration. It's upended her daily life — but won't intimidate her.
apple.news
February 9, 2026 at 7:04 PM
"Putting sanctions on judges and prosecutors who are just doing their job is disgraceful."
This Canadian #ICC judge knows firsthand the impact of being targeted by Trump's America : apple.news/AX3mvYqrtQ26... #cdnpoli
This Canadian #ICC judge knows firsthand the impact of being targeted by Trump's America : apple.news/AX3mvYqrtQ26... #cdnpoli
Reposted by Mark Kersten
I love just how firmly under President Trump's skin Bad Bunny is - and how he's driving this President to be even crazier than he is.
February 9, 2026 at 5:06 AM
I love just how firmly under President Trump's skin Bad Bunny is - and how he's driving this President to be even crazier than he is.
Together - from South America to Latin America to North America - we are all America.
Legendary show, Bad Bunny.
Awesome shout out to Canada too 🇨🇦
#SuperBowl
Legendary show, Bad Bunny.
Awesome shout out to Canada too 🇨🇦
#SuperBowl
a man in a suit and tie is crying and saying `` you get me '' in front of a window .
ALT: a man in a suit and tie is crying and saying `` you get me '' in front of a window .
media.tenor.com
February 9, 2026 at 2:35 AM
Together - from South America to Latin America to North America - we are all America.
Legendary show, Bad Bunny.
Awesome shout out to Canada too 🇨🇦
#SuperBowl
Legendary show, Bad Bunny.
Awesome shout out to Canada too 🇨🇦
#SuperBowl
Reposted by Mark Kersten
"A violent and criminal effort is underway to ethnically cleanse territories in the West Bank. Gangs of armed settlers persecute, harm, wound and even kill Palestinians living there. The rampages include burning olive groves, houses and cars; breaking into homes; and physically assaulting people."
Former Israeli PM Ehud Olmert says the #ICC is necessary to “expose those responsible” and address atrocities - ethnic cleansing - in the West Bank 👇
www.haaretz.com/opinion/2026... #WestBank
www.haaretz.com/opinion/2026... #WestBank
Israel's security apparatus is complicit in the ethnic cleansing of West Bank Palestinians | Opinion
A Militia of Hundreds of Jews Is Operating in the West Bank With Direct and Indirect Backing From Israeli Government Officials, While Security Agencies Have Deliberately Chosen Not to Take Action Agai...
www.haaretz.com
February 8, 2026 at 5:04 PM
"A violent and criminal effort is underway to ethnically cleanse territories in the West Bank. Gangs of armed settlers persecute, harm, wound and even kill Palestinians living there. The rampages include burning olive groves, houses and cars; breaking into homes; and physically assaulting people."
Former Israeli PM Ehud Olmert says the #ICC is necessary to “expose those responsible” and address atrocities - ethnic cleansing - in the West Bank 👇
www.haaretz.com/opinion/2026... #WestBank
www.haaretz.com/opinion/2026... #WestBank
Israel's security apparatus is complicit in the ethnic cleansing of West Bank Palestinians | Opinion
A Militia of Hundreds of Jews Is Operating in the West Bank With Direct and Indirect Backing From Israeli Government Officials, While Security Agencies Have Deliberately Chosen Not to Take Action Agai...
www.haaretz.com
February 8, 2026 at 4:59 PM
Former Israeli PM Ehud Olmert says the #ICC is necessary to “expose those responsible” and address atrocities - ethnic cleansing - in the West Bank 👇
www.haaretz.com/opinion/2026... #WestBank
www.haaretz.com/opinion/2026... #WestBank
“America’s been coming apart in a broken-family sort of way for a while. The rest of us are their unlucky neighbours, lying awake at night listening to them fight.”
Fragile U.S. psyche faces trial by sport in Milan www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/artic...
Fragile U.S. psyche faces trial by sport in Milan www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/artic...
Fragile U.S. psyche faces trial by sport in Milan
American athletes are being pressed hard on how it feels to play for a country no one likes any more
www.theglobeandmail.com
February 8, 2026 at 4:49 PM
“America’s been coming apart in a broken-family sort of way for a while. The rest of us are their unlucky neighbours, lying awake at night listening to them fight.”
Fragile U.S. psyche faces trial by sport in Milan www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/artic...
Fragile U.S. psyche faces trial by sport in Milan www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/artic...
Reposted by Mark Kersten
“Between 200,000 and 500,000 people are thought to have stayed” in Darfur’s capital before it fell on October 26, writes Jérôme Tubiana. “Close to 100,000 fled the city and surrounding villages.… Where are all the others?”
www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
Darfur’s Endless War | Jérôme Tubiana
As paramilitaries tear through their already devastated province, self-defense fighters in North Darfur have taken up arms to defend their homes.
www.nybooks.com
February 7, 2026 at 11:08 PM
“Between 200,000 and 500,000 people are thought to have stayed” in Darfur’s capital before it fell on October 26, writes Jérôme Tubiana. “Close to 100,000 fled the city and surrounding villages.… Where are all the others?”
www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
NDP MP @heathermcpherson.bsky.social has a petition in the House of Commons calling on Canada to cancel subsidies, grants & public funding to Canadian companies who have contracts w #ICE, revoke permission for ICE to operate offices on Canadian soil, etc: www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en... #cdnpoli
Petition e-7146 - Petitions
www.ourcommons.ca
February 7, 2026 at 11:31 PM
NDP MP @heathermcpherson.bsky.social has a petition in the House of Commons calling on Canada to cancel subsidies, grants & public funding to Canadian companies who have contracts w #ICE, revoke permission for ICE to operate offices on Canadian soil, etc: www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en... #cdnpoli
"So many people disappeared, so many people dead, so much impunity."
Mexico living through 'terror,' says relative of kidnapped employee of Canadian mining company: www.cbc.ca/news/world/v... #EnforcedDisappearances
Mexico living through 'terror,' says relative of kidnapped employee of Canadian mining company: www.cbc.ca/news/world/v... #EnforcedDisappearances
Kidnappings show Mexico living through 'terror,' says relative of missing employee of Canadian mining company | CBC News
The discovery of human remains in the state of Sinaloa during a search by Mexican forces for 10 kidnapped employees of a Canadian mining firm highlights the "terror" the country faces, a relative of o...
www.cbc.ca
February 7, 2026 at 7:27 PM
"So many people disappeared, so many people dead, so much impunity."
Mexico living through 'terror,' says relative of kidnapped employee of Canadian mining company: www.cbc.ca/news/world/v... #EnforcedDisappearances
Mexico living through 'terror,' says relative of kidnapped employee of Canadian mining company: www.cbc.ca/news/world/v... #EnforcedDisappearances
How depraved. How much more must this child suffer?
February 6, 2026 at 8:27 PM
How depraved. How much more must this child suffer?
After the systematic destruction of part of a Gaza cemetery, "there is no visible trace left of a plot set aside for Canadian UN peacekeepers."
Do we have a response to the IDF's desecration of the graves of 23 Canadian soldiers, @anitaoakvilleeast.bsky.social? www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...
Do we have a response to the IDF's desecration of the graves of 23 Canadian soldiers, @anitaoakvilleeast.bsky.social? www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...
Revealed: Israel bulldozed part of Gaza war cemetery containing allied graves
Satellite images and witness testimony show destruction as IDF claims it was forced to take defensive measures
www.theguardian.com
February 6, 2026 at 6:33 PM
After the systematic destruction of part of a Gaza cemetery, "there is no visible trace left of a plot set aside for Canadian UN peacekeepers."
Do we have a response to the IDF's desecration of the graves of 23 Canadian soldiers, @anitaoakvilleeast.bsky.social? www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...
Do we have a response to the IDF's desecration of the graves of 23 Canadian soldiers, @anitaoakvilleeast.bsky.social? www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...
Desecrating the dead is a war crime.
Israeli forces have bulldozed part of a Gaza cemetery containing the war graves of dozens of British, Australian & other allied soldiers killed in WWI and WWII, satellite imagery and witness testimony reveal: www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f... #Gaza
Israeli forces have bulldozed part of a Gaza cemetery containing the war graves of dozens of British, Australian & other allied soldiers killed in WWI and WWII, satellite imagery and witness testimony reveal: www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f... #Gaza
Revealed: Israel bulldozed part of Gaza war cemetery containing allied graves
Satellite images and witness testimony show destruction as IDF claims it was forced to take defensive measures
www.theguardian.com
February 6, 2026 at 6:24 PM
Desecrating the dead is a war crime.
Israeli forces have bulldozed part of a Gaza cemetery containing the war graves of dozens of British, Australian & other allied soldiers killed in WWI and WWII, satellite imagery and witness testimony reveal: www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f... #Gaza
Israeli forces have bulldozed part of a Gaza cemetery containing the war graves of dozens of British, Australian & other allied soldiers killed in WWI and WWII, satellite imagery and witness testimony reveal: www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f... #Gaza
In Davos, the message was that the US under Trump - and Rubio - had demolished the rules based order, & nothing is normal anymore.
Today, the message is we're embracing & working closely with those same guys who demolished the rules based order, as if it was normal.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Today, the message is we're embracing & working closely with those same guys who demolished the rules based order, as if it was normal.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
February 6, 2026 at 12:55 AM
In Davos, the message was that the US under Trump - and Rubio - had demolished the rules based order, & nothing is normal anymore.
Today, the message is we're embracing & working closely with those same guys who demolished the rules based order, as if it was normal.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Today, the message is we're embracing & working closely with those same guys who demolished the rules based order, as if it was normal.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
"The denialists’ gatherings on Canadian campuses are not just an affront to the truth, but an indication that the truth is working — the more that the horrors of the residential school system are accepted and understood, the louder the small group of denialists get." thetyee.ca/Opinion/2026...
What Past Atrocities Teach Us about Residential School Burials | The Tyee
The decision to dig in search of children's bodies should rest with the communities and families.
thetyee.ca
February 5, 2026 at 10:54 PM
"The denialists’ gatherings on Canadian campuses are not just an affront to the truth, but an indication that the truth is working — the more that the horrors of the residential school system are accepted and understood, the louder the small group of denialists get." thetyee.ca/Opinion/2026...
Reposted by Mark Kersten
It is tragic that the intl community, in particular the UN Security Council, have treated the ICC as a mere talking point rather than an effective instrument of justice. Referrals remain performative - unless against friends in which case they become a political football. Cooperation? No thanks...
Thanks @janethanderson.bsky.social for incorporating my ramblings in this really excellent piece on the murder of Saif Gaddafi and the Libya-ICC turbulent relationship www.justiceinfo.net/en/155092-ga... via @justiceinfo.bsky.social
Gaddafi’s death, the last nail in an ICC coffin
On February 3 Saif al Islam Gaddafi was murdered in Libya. His continued freedom in Libya epitomised the powerlessness of the International Criminal Court. And his death burries the last hopes that it...
www.justiceinfo.net
February 5, 2026 at 8:52 PM
It is tragic that the intl community, in particular the UN Security Council, have treated the ICC as a mere talking point rather than an effective instrument of justice. Referrals remain performative - unless against friends in which case they become a political football. Cooperation? No thanks...
“We also have growing concerns about what information is being shared under information agreements with U.S. authorities to ensure Canada is not facilitating or complicit in ICE operations.”
ICE has offices in five cities across Canada. What are they doing here? www.thestar.com/news/gta/ice...
ICE has offices in five cities across Canada. What are they doing here? www.thestar.com/news/gta/ice...
ICE has offices in five cities across Canada. What are they doing here?
While ICE did not respond to the Star's inquiries about Canadian operations, experts say the field offices are not authorized to carry out independent investigations or carry out immigration enforceme...
www.thestar.com
February 5, 2026 at 8:06 PM
“We also have growing concerns about what information is being shared under information agreements with U.S. authorities to ensure Canada is not facilitating or complicit in ICE operations.”
ICE has offices in five cities across Canada. What are they doing here? www.thestar.com/news/gta/ice...
ICE has offices in five cities across Canada. What are they doing here? www.thestar.com/news/gta/ice...
This is significant:
"As Ottawa publicly defended its largely permit-free procedure to send Canadian arms and munitions to the United States, the Crown corporation overseeing international transfers conducted a review of the final destination of those shipments." cbc.ca/news/politic... #Gaza
"As Ottawa publicly defended its largely permit-free procedure to send Canadian arms and munitions to the United States, the Crown corporation overseeing international transfers conducted a review of the final destination of those shipments." cbc.ca/news/politic... #Gaza
Crown corp. reviewed U.S.-bound arms exports over potential transfer to Israel | CBC News
As Ottawa publicly defended its largely permit-free procedure to send Canadian arms and munitions to the United States, the Crown corporation overseeing international transfers conducted a review of t...
cbc.ca
February 5, 2026 at 7:39 PM
This is significant:
"As Ottawa publicly defended its largely permit-free procedure to send Canadian arms and munitions to the United States, the Crown corporation overseeing international transfers conducted a review of the final destination of those shipments." cbc.ca/news/politic... #Gaza
"As Ottawa publicly defended its largely permit-free procedure to send Canadian arms and munitions to the United States, the Crown corporation overseeing international transfers conducted a review of the final destination of those shipments." cbc.ca/news/politic... #Gaza
Reposted by Mark Kersten
Thanks @janethanderson.bsky.social for incorporating my ramblings in this really excellent piece on the murder of Saif Gaddafi and the Libya-ICC turbulent relationship www.justiceinfo.net/en/155092-ga... via @justiceinfo.bsky.social
Gaddafi’s death, the last nail in an ICC coffin
On February 3 Saif al Islam Gaddafi was murdered in Libya. His continued freedom in Libya epitomised the powerlessness of the International Criminal Court. And his death burries the last hopes that it...
www.justiceinfo.net
February 5, 2026 at 9:39 AM
Thanks @janethanderson.bsky.social for incorporating my ramblings in this really excellent piece on the murder of Saif Gaddafi and the Libya-ICC turbulent relationship www.justiceinfo.net/en/155092-ga... via @justiceinfo.bsky.social
Reposted by Mark Kersten
Concise quick commentary - thank you all so much for helping out - from @luigiprosperi.bsky.social and @markkersten.bsky.social and Jürgen Schurr from @libyanjustice.bsky.social and Ali Omar of @lcw.ngo
Thanks @janethanderson.bsky.social for incorporating my ramblings in this really excellent piece on the murder of Saif Gaddafi and the Libya-ICC turbulent relationship www.justiceinfo.net/en/155092-ga... via @justiceinfo.bsky.social
Gaddafi’s death, the last nail in an ICC coffin
On February 3 Saif al Islam Gaddafi was murdered in Libya. His continued freedom in Libya epitomised the powerlessness of the International Criminal Court. And his death burries the last hopes that it...
www.justiceinfo.net
February 5, 2026 at 10:45 AM
Concise quick commentary - thank you all so much for helping out - from @luigiprosperi.bsky.social and @markkersten.bsky.social and Jürgen Schurr from @libyanjustice.bsky.social and Ali Omar of @lcw.ngo
Reposted by Mark Kersten
Incredibly good argument here, that every settler Canadian should read and take to heart as we confront those we know who might be susceptible to the arguments of these depraved denialists.
To fight denialism "is to insist, without qualification, that it is up to the affected communities & only the affected communities to decide whether to exhume the remains of their loved ones."
What Past Atrocities Teach Us about Residential School Burials thetyee.ca/Opinion/2026... @thetyee.ca
What Past Atrocities Teach Us about Residential School Burials thetyee.ca/Opinion/2026... @thetyee.ca
What Past Atrocities Teach Us about Residential School Burials | The Tyee
The decision to dig in search of children's bodies should rest with the communities and families.
thetyee.ca
February 5, 2026 at 2:51 AM
Incredibly good argument here, that every settler Canadian should read and take to heart as we confront those we know who might be susceptible to the arguments of these depraved denialists.
Reposted by Mark Kersten
Important piece by @markkersten.bsky.social.
To fight denialism "is to insist, without qualification, that it is up to the affected communities & only the affected communities to decide whether to exhume the remains of their loved ones."
What Past Atrocities Teach Us about Residential School Burials thetyee.ca/Opinion/2026... @thetyee.ca
What Past Atrocities Teach Us about Residential School Burials thetyee.ca/Opinion/2026... @thetyee.ca
What Past Atrocities Teach Us about Residential School Burials | The Tyee
The decision to dig in search of children's bodies should rest with the communities and families.
thetyee.ca
February 5, 2026 at 1:24 AM
Important piece by @markkersten.bsky.social.