Thijs B. Bouwknegt
@thijsbouwknegt.bsky.social
Historian | Senior Researcher at Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts & Sciences | Research on #massviolence #war #genocide #humanrights #internationaljustice #transitionaljustice | Focus on #Africa #Afghanistan | https://nl.linkedin.com/in/thijsbouwknegt
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New here, having moved from Twitter/X. Postings here are from my professional perspective as #historian, with broad interests in #massviolence, #war, #genocide, #humanrights, #internationaljustice, #transitionaljustice, #internationallaw. Particular focus on affairs in #Africa & #Afghanistan
UN establishes “ongoing independent investigative mechanism to
collect, consolidate, preserve and analyse evidence” of international crimes, the most serious violations of international law, and human rights violations in #Afghanistan documents.un.org/doc/undoc/lt...
collect, consolidate, preserve and analyse evidence” of international crimes, the most serious violations of international law, and human rights violations in #Afghanistan documents.un.org/doc/undoc/lt...
documents.un.org
October 9, 2025 at 6:23 AM
UN establishes “ongoing independent investigative mechanism to
collect, consolidate, preserve and analyse evidence” of international crimes, the most serious violations of international law, and human rights violations in #Afghanistan documents.un.org/doc/undoc/lt...
collect, consolidate, preserve and analyse evidence” of international crimes, the most serious violations of international law, and human rights violations in #Afghanistan documents.un.org/doc/undoc/lt...
Upsetting and unsettling reporting and reading on the #ICC in the local Dutch daily @nrc.nl: “Abuse, manipulation and suspicion at the top of the International Criminal Court in The Hague“ www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/...
Misbruik, manipulatie en achterdocht in de top van het Internationaal Strafhof in Den Haag
VN-onderzoek: Tegen de hoofdaanklager van het Internationaal Strafhof loopt een onderzoek van de Verenigde Naties – een naaste medewerker beschuldigt hem van seksueel misbruik. Dit ging een rol spelen...
www.nrc.nl
October 9, 2025 at 6:13 AM
Upsetting and unsettling reporting and reading on the #ICC in the local Dutch daily @nrc.nl: “Abuse, manipulation and suspicion at the top of the International Criminal Court in The Hague“ www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/...
Reposted by Thijs B. Bouwknegt
Overall the problem with the Rome Statute system is that its authors made it so voluntary and optional—you can sign, unsign, and sign again; you can join, you can leave, join again; you can refer, you can defer. You can cooperate, you cannot cooperate. State governments will do all, did all & do all
West Africa & #ICC. Washington pushed some states not to join. Senegal was the first to sign the Rome Statute; Côte d’Ivoire the first to transfer jurisdiction; Mali cooperated in two trials. Guinea sought assistance. Gambia withdrew & rejoined. Now junta’s unsubscribe, allegedly pushed by Moscow
Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger withdraw from ICC
September 24, 2025 at 7:34 AM
Overall the problem with the Rome Statute system is that its authors made it so voluntary and optional—you can sign, unsign, and sign again; you can join, you can leave, join again; you can refer, you can defer. You can cooperate, you cannot cooperate. State governments will do all, did all & do all
West Africa & #ICC. Washington pushed some states not to join. Senegal was the first to sign the Rome Statute; Côte d’Ivoire the first to transfer jurisdiction; Mali cooperated in two trials. Guinea sought assistance. Gambia withdrew & rejoined. Now junta’s unsubscribe, allegedly pushed by Moscow
Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger withdraw from ICC
Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger withdraw from ICC
The West African countries are facing deadly violence from jihadist groups, but their armies are also accused of crimes against civilians. The International Criminal Court's mission is to prosecute the perpetrators of the most serious crimes, such as war crimes, when countries lack the will or capacity to do so themselves.
www.lemonde.fr
September 24, 2025 at 7:24 AM
West Africa & #ICC. Washington pushed some states not to join. Senegal was the first to sign the Rome Statute; Côte d’Ivoire the first to transfer jurisdiction; Mali cooperated in two trials. Guinea sought assistance. Gambia withdrew & rejoined. Now junta’s unsubscribe, allegedly pushed by Moscow
#ICC prosecution formulates charges against former Philippines President — as well as former mayor of Davao City — Rodrigo Roa #Duterte: three counts of crimes against humanity, alleging his involvement in at least 76 murders as part of his war on drugs www.icc-cpi.int/sites/defaul...
www.icc-cpi.int
September 23, 2025 at 5:31 AM
#ICC prosecution formulates charges against former Philippines President — as well as former mayor of Davao City — Rodrigo Roa #Duterte: three counts of crimes against humanity, alleging his involvement in at least 76 murders as part of his war on drugs www.icc-cpi.int/sites/defaul...
Navanethem Pillay—de rechter die in 1998 als lid van een internationale strafkamer voor het eerst in de geschiedenis genocide vaststelde (ICTR, Akayesu & Kambanda)—leidt de VN-onderzoekscommissie over Gaza. Zij biedt haar juridische analyse met totale helderheid en historische kracht
Navanethem Pillay—member of the first ever international judicial panel to make a judicial finding on genocide (ICTR, 1998, Akayesu & Kambanda) for the crime—heads the UN’s inquiry commission on Gaza. She offers her legal analysis with total clarity and historical force
Opinion | My U.N. Commission’s Finding: Israel Is Committing Genocide
www.nytimes.com
September 17, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Navanethem Pillay—de rechter die in 1998 als lid van een internationale strafkamer voor het eerst in de geschiedenis genocide vaststelde (ICTR, Akayesu & Kambanda)—leidt de VN-onderzoekscommissie over Gaza. Zij biedt haar juridische analyse met totale helderheid en historische kracht
Navanethem Pillay—member of the first ever international judicial panel to make a judicial finding on genocide (ICTR, 1998, Akayesu & Kambanda) for the crime—heads the UN’s inquiry commission on Gaza. She offers her legal analysis with total clarity and historical force
Opinion | My U.N. Commission’s Finding: Israel Is Committing Genocide
www.nytimes.com
September 17, 2025 at 6:55 AM
Navanethem Pillay—member of the first ever international judicial panel to make a judicial finding on genocide (ICTR, 1998, Akayesu & Kambanda) for the crime—heads the UN’s inquiry commission on Gaza. She offers her legal analysis with total clarity and historical force
Findings of Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel: “Legal analysis of the conduct of Israel in Gaza pursuant to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of theCrime of Genocide” www.ohchr.org/sites/defaul...
www.ohchr.org
September 16, 2025 at 11:22 AM
Findings of Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel: “Legal analysis of the conduct of Israel in Gaza pursuant to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of theCrime of Genocide” www.ohchr.org/sites/defaul...
Targeted killings in Gaza. The sniper from Munich www.spiegel.de/internationa...
Targeted Killings: Israeli soldier from Munich allegedly shot unarmed men in Gaza
Two snipers in the Israeli army are thought to have committed war crimes in Gaza. Video evidence appears to corroborate those accusations. One of them is a young man from Bavaria.
www.spiegel.de
September 16, 2025 at 6:43 AM
Targeted killings in Gaza. The sniper from Munich www.spiegel.de/internationa...
After years living quietly in #Florida, Shah of #Iran’s alleged ‘chief torturer’ must face accusations in #USA court www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...
After years living quietly in Florida, Shah of Iran’s alleged ‘chief torturer’ must face accusations in court
Parviz Sabeti crafted a low-profile life for his family – but now he faces a $225m lawsuit over atrocities committed in prisons in Tehran and elsewhere
www.theguardian.com
September 16, 2025 at 6:37 AM
After years living quietly in #Florida, Shah of #Iran’s alleged ‘chief torturer’ must face accusations in #USA court www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...
It took 7,494 days from the UN Security Council’s referral of mass exterminatory violence in #Darfur #Sudan to the #ICC, and the court to finish its 1st trial with a judgement. On 6 October, Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman hears the outcome: guilty or not guilty of crimes against humanity, war crimes
September 15, 2025 at 6:11 PM
It took 7,494 days from the UN Security Council’s referral of mass exterminatory violence in #Darfur #Sudan to the #ICC, and the court to finish its 1st trial with a judgement. On 6 October, Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman hears the outcome: guilty or not guilty of crimes against humanity, war crimes
Today, in The Hague, continues the criminal trial of former #Kosovo President Hashim #Thaci and others. Appearing before the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, Thaci starts their defence against charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes.
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September 15, 2025 at 7:31 AM
1/ Was at the International Criminal Court #ICC for a midday session. Was there to see hearings in the oldest case on its docket. On the menu: old and updated criminal charges against Joseph #Kony. He once headed the terrorising Lord’s Resistance Army (#LRA) in #Uganda. Some thoughts in the thread 🧵
September 11, 2025 at 6:26 PM
1/ Was at the International Criminal Court #ICC for a midday session. Was there to see hearings in the oldest case on its docket. On the menu: old and updated criminal charges against Joseph #Kony. He once headed the terrorising Lord’s Resistance Army (#LRA) in #Uganda. Some thoughts in the thread 🧵
September 11, 2025 at 5:38 AM
1/ Was at the International Criminal Court #ICC for a midday session. Was there to see hearings in the oldest case on its docket. On the menu: old and updated criminal charges against Joseph #Kony. He once headed the terrorising Lord’s Resistance Army (#LRA) in #Uganda. Some thoughts in the thread 🧵
Het Internationaal #Strafhof hoort vandaag de zaak tegen Joseph #Kony, oud-leider van de terroriserende #LRA in #Oeganda. Met Kony nog op de vlucht is dit geen proces. Toch wordt bewijs gepresenteerd, getuigenissen gehoord, verhalen verteld—aanklagers & rechters op de stoel van de historicus?
September 9, 2025 at 6:51 AM
Today the #ICC hears the case against Joseph #Kony, the once infamous chieftain of #Uganda’s marauding #LRA. He is still elusive and this is no trial. Yet evidence shall be presented, testimony recounted, narratives forged—do prosecutors & judges now occupy the historian’s chair?
September 9, 2025 at 6:41 AM
See my new piece: "From #Congo to Congo: Mass Atrocity Violence & Transitional Justice in #Africa, 1885–2025". It discusses the non-western evolution of #transitionaljustice, particularly in Africa (from the Berlin Conference to the #ICC). #transitionalhistory link.springer.com/rwe/10.1007/...
From Congo to Congo: Mass Atrocity Violence and Transitional Justice in Africa, 1885–2025
Scholarship and popular historical narratives scarcely incorporate Africa in genealogies of “transitional justice” (TJ)—a historical phenomenon of (illiberal and liberal) socio-polit...
link.springer.com
July 10, 2025 at 12:33 PM
See my new piece: "From #Congo to Congo: Mass Atrocity Violence & Transitional Justice in #Africa, 1885–2025". It discusses the non-western evolution of #transitionaljustice, particularly in Africa (from the Berlin Conference to the #ICC). #transitionalhistory link.springer.com/rwe/10.1007/...
Lawyer Courtenay Griffiths passes away—observing the trial of Liberia’s ex-President Charles Taylor, whom he defended at the Special Court for Sierra Leone, I enjoyed his eloquence, his delivery of argument, and his quoting of Bob Marley and the Wailers at trial www.theguardian.com/law/2025/jun...
‘Simply no one better’: Prominent Black UK lawyer Courtenay Griffiths dies aged 69
Griffiths, one of the first Black lawyers to achieve queen’s counsel, has been fondly remembered by colleagues
www.theguardian.com
June 25, 2025 at 6:51 AM
Lawyer Courtenay Griffiths passes away—observing the trial of Liberia’s ex-President Charles Taylor, whom he defended at the Special Court for Sierra Leone, I enjoyed his eloquence, his delivery of argument, and his quoting of Bob Marley and the Wailers at trial www.theguardian.com/law/2025/jun...
When we peer through the loaded lens of #genocide, or the cold precision of #warcrimes, our vision falters—and we begin to drift from the fuller landscape of history, morality & law, where contemporary mass violence against civilians finds its most solemn name: #crimesagainsthumanity. Op-Ed in Dutch
Door genocide gezichtsbepalend te maken, raken we blind voor de veelzijdige dynamiek van vervolgings- en uitroeiingspolitiek – die, indien racistisch gemotiveerd, ook genocidaal kan zijn www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/... www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/...
Opinie | Kabinet, voorkom nu Israëlisch massageweld in Gaza
Oorlogsmisdrijven: Het Israëlische geweld in Gaza aanmerken als ‘genocidaal’ is terecht, vindt Thijs Bouwknegt – maar ook verlammend. Actie is geboden tegen deze misdrijven tegen de menselijkheid.
www.nrc.nl
May 31, 2025 at 12:14 PM
When we peer through the loaded lens of #genocide, or the cold precision of #warcrimes, our vision falters—and we begin to drift from the fuller landscape of history, morality & law, where contemporary mass violence against civilians finds its most solemn name: #crimesagainsthumanity. Op-Ed in Dutch
Door genocide gezichtsbepalend te maken, raken we blind voor de veelzijdige dynamiek van vervolgings- en uitroeiingspolitiek – die, indien racistisch gemotiveerd, ook genocidaal kan zijn www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/... www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/...
Opinie | Kabinet, voorkom nu Israëlisch massageweld in Gaza
Oorlogsmisdrijven: Het Israëlische geweld in Gaza aanmerken als ‘genocidaal’ is terecht, vindt Thijs Bouwknegt – maar ook verlammend. Actie is geboden tegen deze misdrijven tegen de menselijkheid.
www.nrc.nl
May 30, 2025 at 6:08 AM
Door genocide gezichtsbepalend te maken, raken we blind voor de veelzijdige dynamiek van vervolgings- en uitroeiingspolitiek – die, indien racistisch gemotiveerd, ook genocidaal kan zijn www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/... www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/...
Epilogue to the #war: #Afghanistan reports the lowest well-being in recorded history | #Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.ads4156
Epilogue to the war: Afghanistan reports the lowest well-being in recorded history
Analyses reveal that after the War in Afghanistan, Afghans reported the lowest subjective well-being in recorded history.
www.science.org
May 29, 2025 at 5:03 AM
Epilogue to the #war: #Afghanistan reports the lowest well-being in recorded history | #Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.ads4156
DR #Congo ex-leader Joseph #Kabila lashes out after immunity lifted for treason and war crimes charges www.bbc.com/news/article...
DR Congo ex-leader Joseph Kabila lashes out after immunity lifted for treason charges
Joseph Kabila made the remarks in a 45-minute speech live on YouTube from an unspecified location.
www.bbc.com
May 26, 2025 at 6:28 AM
DR #Congo ex-leader Joseph #Kabila lashes out after immunity lifted for treason and war crimes charges www.bbc.com/news/article...
Reposted by Thijs B. Bouwknegt
#Syria (trial in France) - The Paris trial of Syrian Majdi Nema for complicity in #WarCrimes enters its final phase this Friday: the closing arguments. But the absence of many witnesses has weighed heavily on the proceedings.
www.justiceinfo.net/en/145729-ma...
www.justiceinfo.net/en/145729-ma...
Majdi Nema: a trial with witnesses in absentia
The Paris trial of Syrian Majdi Nema for complicity in war crimes enters its final phase this Friday: the closing arguments. But the absence of many witnesses has weighed heavily on the proceedings.
www.justiceinfo.net
May 23, 2025 at 9:33 AM
#Syria (trial in France) - The Paris trial of Syrian Majdi Nema for complicity in #WarCrimes enters its final phase this Friday: the closing arguments. But the absence of many witnesses has weighed heavily on the proceedings.
www.justiceinfo.net/en/145729-ma...
www.justiceinfo.net/en/145729-ma...
How to abandon an #archive. When an authoritarian regime collapses, what happens to the archives of its secret police? Ali Aljasem & Uğur Ümit Üngör look at #Syria’s #Mukhabarat. #transitionalhistory #transitionaljustice europeanreviewofbooks.com/how-to-aband...
europeanreviewofbooks.com
May 25, 2025 at 8:50 AM
How to abandon an #archive. When an authoritarian regime collapses, what happens to the archives of its secret police? Ali Aljasem & Uğur Ümit Üngör look at #Syria’s #Mukhabarat. #transitionalhistory #transitionaljustice europeanreviewofbooks.com/how-to-aband...