Ben Ferencz is the kind of guy you like right off—friendly, smiling, open, and incredibly humble considering his stunning achievements. I was lucky enough to make Ben’s acquaintance through a mutual friend, former Chief Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court Luis Moreno Ocampo. Since I was in the midst of in-depth research for a book that was to be, in part, about the link between international justice and world peace, Luis thought Ben was somebody I needed to meet. Ben and I at his winter home in Florida. Still highly active despite then being on the threshold of his tenth decade, Ben met with me while he was visiting The Hague, where Moreno Ocampo had asked him to provide some concluding comments at the closing of the ICC case against Congolese rebel leader Thomas Lubanga Dyilo for crimes against humanity. I was there, as an observer, on Moreno Ocampo’s invitation as well. Ben and I seemed to hit it off right away, and we cemented our friendship still further
Versión en español:
Author Roberto Vivo comments on wars past and present, on the world’s great peacemakers and on the pathway to global peace. His basic philosophy: In a world where 9 out of every 10 victims of armed conflict are civilians, war is no longer a viable political alternative. Indeed, it is the ultimate crime against humanity. If rising generations are to have a future, the key will lie in world peace. War is the pathway to oblivion.