Release Date: March 9, 2010
Media Contact: Dale Johnson, External Relations
E-mail: Dale.Johnson@uregina.ca
Phone: 306-585-5439
Mobile: 306-536-4312
Fax: 306-585-4997
The popular Coffee House Controversies lecture series ends with "Canada, a safe-haven for perpetrators of international crimes?"

The popular Coffee House Controversies lecture series, presented by the Faculty of Arts at the University of Regina, concludes for another semester. Ending the series is Dr. Nick Jones, assistant professor and police studies coordinator, who will deliver a talk entitled "Canada, a safe-haven for perpetrators of international crimes?"

An aspect of the search for justice following mass crimes involves the prosecution of those accused of the crimes. Three primary avenues of prosecution of those accused of genocide in Rwanda have been undertaken; trials in Rwanda, trials at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and trials in foreign jurisdictions.

"A rare event in international justice, the prosecution of a foreign national for crimes committed on foreign soil against foreign victims provides an example of the application of universal jurisdiction," says Jones.

Join Jones on March 11 at 7:30 p.m. in Chapters bookstore behind the Southland Mall (2625 Gordon Road) where he will explore the challenges faced by Canadian officials in prosecuting Désiré Munyaneza under the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act (2000) and will seek to garner an understanding of the reasons why a foreign government would undertake such an endeavour.

Jones joined the Faculty of Arts in 2006 after completing his PhD in Sociology at the University of Calgary. In July 2007, he became the police studies coordinator. His doctoral research involved three research trips to Rwanda and Tanzania where he engaged in a preliminary investigation into the judicial response to the 1994 Rwandan genocide. In that research he sought to compare three related "levels" of the judicial response, at the international level, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), the national domestic courts in Rwanda, and the community-based Gacaca courts. In July 2009, Jones published The courts of genocide: Politics and the rule of law in Rwanda and Arusha. His other research interests include restorative justice (theory and practice), Aboriginal justice issues, criminological theory and the sociology of law.

Coffee House Controversies speakers give an informal 20-minute talk focusing on a topic of interest to the general public. The talks are intended to encourage the open exchange of ideas. Twenty minutes of discussion follows each talk, during which members of the general public can ask questions or raise issues with the speaker or other audience members.

The events are free and open to the public. Contact the Faculty of Arts at 585-4226 for more information.