The International Council on Archives – Section on Archives and Human Rights (ICA/SAHR) invites you to its next First Tuesday Talk on Tuesday, October 7, 2025 at 4pm (Central European Time/Paris):
Filming trials for crimes against humanity in France: between the fight against impunity and memorial issues
KEY INFORMATION
Date and time
Tuesday, October 7, 2025, 16:00 CET (Paris time).
Location
Online
Language
French. Automated translation of subtitles will be available
Date and time
Tuesday, October 7, 2025, 16:00 CET (Paris time).
Location
Online
Language
French. Automated translation of subtitles will be available
The talk is free and open for anyone to join, with recordings made available through the SAHR’s playlist of ICA YouTube channel. Registration is required to receive full details on how to connect to this virtual meeting.
Conference Overview
Since 1985, eighteen trials for crimes against humanity have been recorded in France to form historical archives that are now preserved in the French National Archives. The first recordings concerned crimes committed during World War II in France, but since 2014, all defendants tried for crimes against humanity have been held accountable for their actions committed in Rwanda, Liberia, Syria, and, until the end of 2025, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Currently, numerous cases are being investigated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office concerning the commission of crimes against humanity in these countries and in many others around the world, in response to complaints brought before the courts for trial in France. The conference will explore how these audiovisual archives of Justice, which were created to commemorate the Justice, are increasingly becoming an instrument for the prosecution of crimes with an international dimension and the fight against impunity.
SPEAKERS
Martine Sin Blima-Barru
Martine Sin Blima-Barru is a conservatrice du patrimoine with a PHD in history, head of the audiovisual archives department at the French National Archives, and curator of audiovisual exhibitions. An expert on audiovisual archives of Justice, she examines the role of cameras in trials for crimes against humanity and terrorist attacks. She has published numerous articles on the subject, has followed all filmed trials in France since 2014, and provides expert assessments to the courts on behalf of the French National Archives.
