Pillage Crimes: Ivory, Minerals, and Cultural Heritage

Senior Legal Analyst for The Sentry Holly Dranginis will join other experts at the New York City Bar Association for a panel discussion on war crimes, theft in armed conflict, and destruction of cultural heritage.

Join us for a panel discussion on war crimes, theft in armed conflict, and destruction of cultural heritage. The crime of pillage occurs during conflict and post conflict conditions, prohibited by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and many domestic jurisdictions. Elephant poaching, for example, funds armed groups such as the Lord’s Resistance Army and the Janjaweed, and the ivory sold to buy weapons for numerous militias.

The theft of so-called “conflict minerals” is punishable in domestic and international jurisdictions; section 1502 of the U.S. Dodd-Frank Act attempts to stop such pillage but the U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a bill to repeal the section. The demolition of religious sites by the Islamic State in Palmyra and Syria is well-documented, and the destruction of cultural heritage sites and manuscripts in Mali was judged a war crime in a historic International Criminal Court decision.

Speakers:
Carly Oboth, Policy Advisor, Global Witness
Holly Dranginis, Senior Legal Analyst at The Sentry
Jimmiel Mandima, Program Officer, African Wildlife Foundation
Karen Mosoti, Head of the Liaison Office, International Criminal Court to the United Nations

Moderator:
Elizabeth Barad, International Law and Gender Consultant, former co-chair of the NYC Bar’s African Affairs committee.

To learn more, view the NYC Bar event description.
If you’re interested in the event, please RSVP to [email protected].