LOS ANGELES, September 1, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The Sanela Diana Jenkins Human Rights Project today launched a groundbreaking online tool that allows those involved in prosecuting war criminals around the world to collaborate, share information and analyze legal hurdles more effectively.

The Human Rights International Criminal Law Online Forum, at http://www.UCLALawForum.com, provides a venue for lawyers, researchers, government officials and interested members of the general public to discuss - and potentially resolve - difficult questions on international justice. The Forum was created with the support of the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

Bringing war criminals to justice is a truly international effort that requires an extraordinary amount of collaboration, said Sanela Diana Jenkins, the Sarajevo-born businesswoman and human rights activist who established the Sanela Diana Jenkins Human Rights Project at the UCLA School of Law in 2009. The Forum uses technology to provide a place for the best ideas and the best practices to be shared around the world. I believe it can also advance the cause of justice by allowing ordinary people to participate in the discussion alongside the experts.

Ms. Jenkins continued: My experience - first as a refugee and then in helping rebuild Bosnia - has convinced me that legitimate international legal institutions are vital. When the world stands together, it counters the sense of impunity that allows these monsters to believe they can do as they like.

The Forum was created with the cooperation and assistance of the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. The International Criminal Court advances international justice and human rights by embracing new developments in human rights law and prosecuting perpetrators of mass atrocities. The Forum is intended to provide insight and debate on highly contested issues.

For us, it's very important, said Luis Moreno-Ocampo, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. It's a way for us to refine our legal thinking. We like to understand different perceptions in order to reach our own conclusions.

The Forum will deal with one issue at a time. The inaugural issue addresses the question of whether the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has jurisdiction to investigate suspected war crimes arising out of the Gaza conflict in 2008 and 2009. Leading legal thinkers on this issue have posted extensive articles on the Forum debating the issue.

The Forum will provide an opportunity for a serious global public debate on some of the most important human rights problems of the day, said Professor Richard Steinberg, director of the Sanela Diana Jenkins Human Rights Project. This project also provides amazing opportunities for UCLA law students, who are able to collaborate directly with world renowned human rights practitioners and scholars.

About the Sanela Diana Jenkins Human Rights Project at UCLA School of Law

The Sanela Diana Jenkins Human Rights Project (http://www.law.ucla.edu/home/index.asp?page=3251) was established in 2009 by a gift from Sanela Diana Jenkins to advance the cause of human rights around the world. The Project engages in a range of activities, continuously identifying and pursuing the most promising opportunities for addressing human rights issues around the globe, while at the same time advancing understanding about human rights through interdisciplinary studies. The Project is run by the noted foreign relations expert and UCLA Law Professor Richard H. Steinberg.

About Sanela Diana Jenkins

Businesswoman and international human rights activist Sanela Diana Jenkins is the Chairman, CEO and founder of the U.S.- and U.K.-based drinks company, Neuro (http://www.drinkneuro.com). She produced and published Room 23, a best-selling photography book, and owns Melissa Odabash, a leading European swimwear business. Ms. Jenkins recently acquired TV1, a new television station in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Born in Sarajevo, Ms. Jenkins was forced to flee her home as a refugee during the siege of Sarajevo and lost many friends and family members during the war. Her Sanela Diana Jenkins Foundation (http://www.sdjfoundation.org) is the largest privately funded Bosnian organization of its kind. She is an honorary adviser to Bosnian president Haris Silajdzic. In 2008, Ms. Jenkins won the Mostar Peace Connection Prize for her humanitarian work.

SOURCE: Sanela Diana Jenkins Human Rights Project

CONTACT: Mark Bolland, +44-780-809-2277, mark.bolland@markbolland.com, forSanela Diana Jenkins; or Nicola Fletcher, +31(0)70-515-8071,Nicola.fletcher@icc-cpi.int, for the ICC Office of the Prosecutor; orRichard Steinberg, +1-310-267-2064, steinberg@law.ucla.edu, for the SanelaDiana Jenkins Human Rights Project