An allegation of genocide against children formed the core of the speech that Ukraine’s President gave to the UN General Assembly two weeks ago. Coupled with International Criminal Court efforts to arrest Russia’s President and Child Rights Commissioner on war crimes charges, this news has drawn attention to a centuries-old, global criminal phenomenon. Labelling it “child-taking,” Professor Amann discusses its components and the challenges of prosecution, as evidenced in child-taking trials at the Nuremberg tribunals. Consideration of other transitional justice options is informed by examining Indigenous children’s boarding school policies once prevalent in North America, Australia, and elsewhere.

Diane Amman

Diane Marie Amann is Regents’ Professor of Law, Emily & Ernest Woodruff Chair in International Law, and Faculty Co-Director of the Dean Rusk International Law Center at the University of Georgia School of Law. An expert on child and human rights, international criminal law, and the laws of war, she served as the first Special Adviser to the International Criminal Court Prosecutor on Children in & affected by Armed Conflict (2012-2021). Amann is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, has held leadership positions in the American and the European Society of International Law, and has been a visiting researcher at Oxford University and University College London.