about the project
"Our role is to create the political will for governments to live up to their own words on international justice and human rights so that all of us can live in real peace and real freedom and a real sense of security."
Justice Without Borders (37 minutes, 2007) is a documentary film by Amnesty International USA (AIUSA), produced by Skylight Pictures. The film explores the global movement seeking justice and accountability for the most grave human rights abuses.
Activists across the U.S. are organizing Justice Without Borders screenings to mobilize local action for international justice and accountability. The AIUSA international justice and accountability team supports these local efforts as part of our work to build an active and vocal constituency in the U.S. for international justice.
We hope that viewers will take away some key messages:
• Justice can be a catalyst. Justice is not a stand alone "issue" -- it is part of the solution to the human rights crises we work on every day. Justice is not only relevant to the survivors who bring a particular case; it can also be a powerful tool to prevent and deter more human rights abuses from being committed. When a perpetrator of torture or genocide or war crimes is brought to justice anywhere, the impact is felt everywhere; another blow is delivered to the idea that such crimes can somehow be justified as an act of war or counter-terrorism, and -- especially when universal jurisdiction or the International Criminal Court is involved -- the idea that there are fewer and fewer safe havens for human rights abusers grows in strength.
• Justice is not the exclusive realm of lawyers. As the stories in Justice Without Borders demonstrate so clearly, political will is the tipping point every time. Human rights activists therefore have a crucial role to play -- perhaps the most crucial role -- in generating the will to ensure that perpetrators are held accountable.
• Justice should have no borders (if the film doesn't get this across, we dropped the ball!). While authorities in the places where human rights crimes are committed have an obligation to investigate, if they fail to do so, justice should not be left at their whim or mercy. It is in the interests of every country to ensure that those responsible for crimes such as torture, disappearances, genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity are held accountable, and it is the right of survivors to have their cases heard.
• Progress is not just possible -- it's a reality. In the nearly two years since the three stories in the film were selected, we have witnessed incredible progress in each: Alberto Fujimori has been extradited to Peru and his trial began in December 2007; an arrest warrant was issued for Efraín Ríos Montt and testimonies are being given in Guatemala for the Spanish judge; and the International Criminal Court (ICC) has four defendants in custody and in July 2008 ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo for the first time requested an arrest warrant for a sitting head of state (President Omar al Bashir of Sudan).
• You have to keep pushing for justice, as ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo says in the film. There are powerful forces with a strong interest in making sure that human rights cases don’t proceed. Not only do human rights abusers not turn themselves in, but they often get rewarded, as we’ve seen with Ahmad Harun’s appointment to Minister of Humanitarian Affairs in Sudan. Survivors such as the ones profiled in the film face a long, uphill battle to hold those responsible for what happened to them and their loved ones accountable. They pursue justice in the face of corruption and skepticism, and at grave risk to themselves. When we take action for international justice, we take action with them, and we aim to leverage one of the most powerful tools at our disposal -- the diplomatic power of the U.S. -- in support of their cases.
