Lunch seminar with Joseph Wasonga
Media representation of atrocity crimes, victimhood and international criminal justice: the case of 2007 post-election violence in Kenya
Abstract
Is there a relationship between media representation, society and the pursuit of justice for victims of mass violence? International criminal accountability presupposes that victims of atrocity crimes and corresponding perpetrators can be delineated in situations of mass violence. However, the domains of victimhood and perpetration remain convoluted and complex since defining victims, offenders and offenses can be problematic depending on the sociopolitical formation of the society in which such crimes occur. The manner social and legal systems characterise individuals associated with armed groups may influence the positioning of these individuals in the victim-perpetrator dichotomy. Media is instrumental in this characterization and likely to regenerate legal and social designations of victims and perpetrators. These observations raise questions as to whether media representation of victimhood, criminality, and perpetrator affects the way a society thinks about accountability for victims of mass violence. What about objectivity in the representation of violations of human rights and victimhood in situations of mass violence? What implications would such framing have on the dispensation of justice, and indeed whose justice? The above questions are significant in discerning how media representation may have shaped the character of victimhood in the pursuit of international criminal justice for the victims of 2007 post-election violence (PEV) in Kenya. This paper interrogates how media reporting framed victimhood in relation to the International Criminal Court’s response to the 2007 PEV in Kenya. In the process, we analyse the changing character of victimhood as may have been represented in Kenyan media and implications on international accountability.
Speaker bio
Dr Joseph Wasonga is a lecturer in Political Science and International Relations at Kenyatta University. Dr Wasonga has research interests in the politics of international criminal justice, peace and security, forced displacement, and foreign policy. He has a number of publications including journal articles, books and book chapters on peace and security in Africa, transitional justice, social movements in Africa, and the politics of international criminal justice, and security intelligence. Dr. Wasonga has also written on women in politics and conflict situations. Dr Wasonga holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.
Meeting ID: 623 1681 5327
Passcode: 229697