Office of War Crimes Issues

The Office of War Crimes Issues (S/WCI), led by Ambassador-at-Large Stephen Rapp, advises the Secretary of State directly and formulates U.S. policy responses to atrocities committed in areas of conflict and elsewhere throughout the world. The office coordinates U.S. Government support for war crimes accountability in the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Cambodia, Iraq, and other regions where crimes have been committed against civilian populations on a massive scale. The office works closely with other governments, international institutions, and non-government organizations, and with the courts themselves, to see that international and domestic war crimes tribunals succeed in their efforts to bring those responsible for such crimes to justice. The Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues has available a range of diplomatic, legal, economic, military, and intelligence tools to help secure peace and stability, ensure accountability, and build the rule of law.