Join the John Jay College Center for International Human Rights for a learning session exploring the Draft Crimes Against Humanity Treaty and its significance for international justice and accountability. Distinguished experts will examine key provisions of the draft treaty, including protections against gender-based violence, victims’ rights, and opportunities for civil society to contribute to the ongoing treaty negotiations and development.
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Speakers
H.E. Ambassador Joan Forner Rovira
Ambassador Joan Forner Rovira is a career diplomat with more than 30 years of experience in legal and normative standards setting, in particular the Rome Statute negotiations and currently as Steering Group member of the CAH treaty negotiations. Ambassador Forner Rovira has held leadership positions in various diplomatic representations such as the Council of Europe and the United Nations in Geneva. Currently he serves as the Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Andorra to the United Nations in New York, Ambassador to Canada, Mexico and the United States of America.
Elise Keppler
Elise Keppler is the Executive Director of the Global Justice Center, bringing decades of experience advancing accountability for serious violations of international law, including sexual and gender-based violence. Before joining the Global Justice Center, she worked with Human Rights Watch’s International Justice Program from 2003 to 2024, advocating for justice for atrocity crimes across Africa. Her work included supporting campaigns for the referral of the Darfur situation to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the surrender of former Liberian President Charles Taylor to face trial. Keppler has collaborated extensively with African civil society organizations to strengthen international justice and accountability. Ms. Keppler practiced law at Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP and holds a BA from Brown University and a JD from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law.
Heather Barr
Heather Barr is the Associate Director of the Women’s Right Division at Human Rights Watch, where she has conducted extensive research on human rights issues across Asia and the United States. Her work focuses on gender-based violence, child marriage, girls’ education, women’s access to healthcare, and the rights of refugees and incarcerated individuals. She has previous served as Interim Co-Director of the Women’s Rights Division from 2018 to 2021. Before joining Human Rights Watch in 2011, Barr worked with the United Nations on human rights and legal reform in several countries. Her earlier work included litigating on behalf of incarcerated individuals with psychosocial disabilities and establishing an alternative-to-incarceration program in New York City. She holds degrees from the London School of Economics, Columbia University School of Law, and John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
Moderator
Jana Arsovska
Dr. Arsovska is an Associate Professor of Sociology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She is the current director of the Master of Arts Degree Program in International Crime & Justice and the Advanced Certificate in Transnational Organized Crime at the same College. Dr. Arsovska is a faculty of the Program of Doctoral Study in Criminal Justice at
The Graduate Center, City University of New York, as well as a research associate at the Center for Cybercrime Studies. Her research focuses on gender and transnational crime, human and drug trafficking, and cyber organized crime. Dr. Arsovska is the co-PI of a National Institute of Justice grant that focuses on darknet drug markets. Over the years she has acted as a consultant for various organizations, including the World Bank, U.N.O.D.C, and DCAF. She has served as a lead instructor on transnational and cyber organized crime for numerous law enforcement training courses funded by
the Bureau for Justice Assistance (BJA).
Co-sponsored by
MA Program in Human Rights
MA Program in International Crime & Justice
Department of Political Science
John Jay College educates fierce advocates for justice, a calling that demands robust debate, rigorous inquiry & respectful dissent. Consistent with this commitment, we support academic freedom & convene conversations reflecting multiple perspectives. The views expressed at events held at John Jay belong to the speaker(s) & do not represent the opinion of the college.
