Wasja Rijs

What enables people to commit the most heinous crimes? And how can these crimes be prevented? For me, a Dutch criminologist specializing in the world's most serious crimes (war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide), these two questions are central to my work. In 2010 I obtained a Master's degree in International Crimes and Criminology with distinction from VU University Amsterdam. For several years I worked on the issue of juvenile crime prevention and the rehabilitation of recidivists in Amsterdam. After studying mass violence in the former Yugoslavia, Cambodia and Rwanda, I contributed to awareness-raising programs on International Humanitarian Law organized by the Red Cross. In 2022 I assisted in the launch of a new French-taught training on Transitional Justice together with the ULB and UCLouvain and I am proud to find myself amongst the first batch of Alumni. Since 2019, I co-lead the educational program at RCN Justice & Democracy in Belgium. The activities, directed at high school students and justice professionals, are aimed to explore and explain mechanisms that can lead to mass crimes (such as polarization and discrimination), ways in which these can be countered, or - if the harm is already done - how to bring about justice. While guest-lecturing and working together with several universities and educational institutions, I am now exploring possibilities to make use of my practical NGO experience to link professionals and academia. I am convinced that field experience is of the essence to understanding practical challenges on the ground, while research insights have the potential to increase the efficiency and impact of field operations. Therefore, I am keen to link the two. ► Specialties: (Inter)national crimes ⋆ International Humanitarian Law ⋆ International Criminal Law ⋆ Transitional Justice ⋆ Law enforcement ⋆ Strategic policy advising ⋆ Citizenship & Memory education ⋆ Project management ⋆ Process analysis ⋆ Database management ⋆ Research ⋆ Volunteer coaching. ► My strengths: ➊ Inquisitive ➋ Commitment ➌ Analytical ➍ Clarity ➎ Down-to-earth ➏ Discipline ➐ Supportive ➑ Team player