We're excited to announce a unique opportunity to join our exclusive webinar, "A Giant Step Towards 'Never Again:' 10 Years of International Justice." The webinar will be held this Saturday at 1:00 PM EST and feature a discussion on the International Criminal Court as it celebrates the 10th anniversary since its creation. The webinar will feature esteemed speakers Luis Moreno Ocampo, former Chief Prosecutor of the ICC, and Ben Ferencz, professor and former Nuremberg Prosecutor.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is the first permanent international judicial body capable of trying individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes when national courts are unable or unwilling to do so.  Its founding treaty, the Rome Statute, entered into force on July 1, 2002 thereby creating the Court and its ability to prosecute war criminals.

 As of April 2012, 121 states are parties to the Statue of the Court and thirty-two others, including the United States, have signed but not ratified the Rome Statute. There have been 28 indictments, 20 warrants of arrest, 15 cases brought to the Court, six of which are currently on trial, and 9 successful summonses. The court celebrated a landmark moment when it completed its first trial in March 2012, convicting Thomas Lubanga of the Democratic Republic of the Congo of using child soldiers.

President Obama spoke this morning at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. to observe a Day of Remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust and announce the launch of a new Atrocities Prevention Board. Obama was introduced by author and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel. Both speakers gave moving testimony on the horrors of the Holocaust and how we can achieve the promise to "never again" allow such atrocities to occur.

Obama spoke to the need to more formally intervene to prevent mass atrocities and genocide, saying "national sovereignty is never a license to slaughter your own people." He said that "never again is a challenge to us all," adding that "remembrance without action changes nothing."

The President used the speech to outline several key actions the administration is taking to truly achieve the goal of "never again." Chief among these was the issuance of an executive order that allows for U.S. officials to impose sanctions against foreign nationals found to have used new technologies, including cell phone tracking and Internet monitoring, to help carry out grave human rights abuses. These sanctions will hopefully help address the repression of regimes, particularly Iran and Syria, who have used the internet to control and censor democracy and human rights activists.

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was elected to parliament yesterday in a landmark moment for the nation ruled by a military junta until just a few years ago. Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Suu Kyi has been a long-time pro-democracy activist in Myanmar, spending several years under house arrest for her efforts against the military dictators. Suu Kyi lauded her electoral victory as "a triumph of the people" of Myanmar.

Although Suu Kyi's party will only comprise a small minority in the 664-seat legislature, the election is an important step in the movement towards democracy for the formally autocratic government. While the government is still heavily controlled by the military, the nation's leaders have shown significant signs of improving, including ending Suu Kyi's house arrest, freeing hundreds of other political prisoners, allowing opposition parties to participate in elections and calling for the end of ethnically motivated human rights violations.

These steps have led to increased international involvement for Myanmar, including the normalization of relations with the United States, who had imposed heavy sanctions on the Myanmarese government for its human rights violations. While there is still much work to be done before Myanmar completes its transformation to a true democracy, Suu Kyi's victory is a message to all pro-democracy efforts that perseverance does pay off.

The United States and North Korea announced a breakthrough agreement earlier this week, with North Korea agreeing to suspend nuclear weapons testing and halt the enrichment of uranium in return for more than 200,000 metric tons of food aid. This food aid is crucial to the famine-stricken nation that has been subject to heavy sanctions, mostly due to its unbending commitment to a nuclear program.

The announcement is the first true sign of how North Korea's young, new leader Kim Jong-un, who took office last December following the unexpected death of his father Kim Jong-il, will approach international negotiations. While the negotiations began before his father's death, the announcement of an agreement highlights Kim's willingness to engage in negotiations to secure aid that helps solidify support at home.

While the announcement is a positive sign of North Korea's willingness to engage, it is far from a true end to North Korea's nuclear program. North Korea has struck similar deals before without following through. North Korea's state-run media announced the deal with the notable stipulation that they would hold to their end of the deal only "while productive dialogue continues," implying that their cooperation could end at any point. However, the agreement is certainly a step in the right direction.