Trauma on trial: Survival and witnessing at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda

Julia Viebach*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This chapter explores the silences and the gaps that cut through witness testimonies at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) by applying a trauma lens to the narratives that emerge on the witness stand and by contrasting those with a survivor testimony. It compares the recollection of a traumatic experience with the production of legal meaning. To do so, it focuses on a survivor testimony shared with the author at the Rwandan Nyange memorial in 2014 where the crimes in question happened and an ICTR trial that relates to the events at that site. This chapter shows that the experience of trauma not only challenges the language of law but also blurs the legal narratives and functions of tribunals like the ICTR.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationThe Palgrave Handbook of Criminology and the Global South
EditorsKerry Carrington, Russell Hogg, John Scott, Máximo Sozzo
PublisherSpringer International Publishing
Pages1011-1030
Number of pages20
ISBN (Electronic)9783319650210
ISBN (Print)9783319650203
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 13 Jan 2018
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Social Sciences

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