All the Missing Souls

November 14, 2011
A diplomat fights an uphill battle to bring the worst criminals to justice in this dogged memoir. Scheffer, U.S. ambassador-at-large for war crimes during the Clinton administration, recounts his efforts to establish U.N. war crimes tribunals to prosecute mass killings in the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Cambodia. He had an insider’s view of unfolding bloodbaths and provides anguished eyewitness testimony of victims’ suffering and the Clinton administration’s often feckless response. But mostly he describes his endless wrangling to set up the tribunals, a task that required delicate bargaining with U.N. potentates, Washington mandarins, shell-shocked postatrocity regimes, and the perpetrators themselves—all of whom had reason to sacrifice justice to self-interest and political expediency. (He’s especially scathing on America’s “exceptionalist” refusal to accept International Criminal Court jurisdiction over possible American war crimes.) Scheffer’s narrative is an epic diplomatic history that’s lucid but often eye-glazing in its detailed reconstructions of years-long negotiations and mulling of the niceties of international law. At times his memoir gives a sense of diplomats and jurists dithering uselessly amid hurricanes of violence, but in it we see the birth of a more responsible and civilized world order. 36 photos. Agent:

November 1, 2011
Firsthand account of the war crimes tribunals created in the 1990s to prosecute perpetrators of genocide and crimes against humanity. Beginning in 1993, Scheffer (Law/Northwestern Univ.) led efforts to create tribunals for the former Yugoslavia, the Balkans, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Cambodia--all of which culminated in the establishment of the International Criminal Court in 2002. Working first as senior advisor to Madeleine Albright, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and then as U.S. ambassador-at-large for war-crimes issues in the Clinton administration, the author was deeply involved in every aspect of the quest to bring to justice political and military leaders responsible for the murder and mutilation of millions. Scheffer re-creates the period of murder and ethnic cleansing, describes the politicking required to convince nations to act and weighs the successes and missteps of diplomacy aimed at creating a new era of international justice. "I saw so much misery for so many years that my memories remain consumed by human suffering," he writes. His graphic descriptions of mutilated victims in hospital wards underscore the urgency of his pioneering work and explain his anger and frustration at the behavior of Western nations, which offered excuses and prevarications over apprehending war-crimes suspects, with the United States taking a "dangerously isolated" policy on the international court because of the Pentagon's fear that U.S. soldiers abroad might be prosecuted. From the indictment of Slobodan Milosevic in Kosovo to the trial of Charles Taylor in Sierra Leone, Scheffer recounts the highlights of this "truly international counterattack on impunity for the worst possible crimes." Reflecting after nearly a decade of battles, the author writes that international justice is the art of the possible and requires endless patience and persistence. May not appeal to a general audience, but an important resource for scholars and specialists in international law.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

Starred review from December 1, 2011

Scheffer (law, Northwestern Univ.; director, Ctr. for International Human Rights) provides a fascinating insider's account of the formation of the war crimes tribunals following atrocities in the Balkans, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Cambodia. Appointed by President Clinton as ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues, Scheffer also served as senior adviser to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright during this momentous period. He here describes the challenges of uncovering atrocities and holding perpetrators accountable through formal war crimes tribunals. What are the logistics, for instance, of arresting indicted war criminals such as Radovan Karadzic? Scheffer chronicles in captivating detail the diplomatic and political minefields that he and his colleagues navigated to help establish the International Criminal Court. Additionally, this book includes a series of poignant photographs and comprehensive notes. Most impressive, though, is the appendix of charts that compare modern war crimes tribunals. VERDICT A superb account and unique perspective on the subject, complementing works such as Carla Del Ponte's Madame Prosecutor: Confrontations with Humanity's Worst Criminals and the Culture of Impunity.--Lynne F. Maxwell, Villanova Univ. Sch. of Law Lib., PA

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.