GAN Leadership Team

David M. Crane

David M. Crane was the founding chief prosecutor of the international war crimes tribunal in West Africa called the Special Court for Sierra Leone.  The world’s first hybrid international war crimes tribunal, the Special Court for Sierra Leone successfully prosecuted those who bore the greatest responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity, to include the first sitting African head of state in history, President Charles Taylor. He recently published a book on his experience there called Every Living Thing, the first time a prosecutor has written about his daily experiences seeking justice for victims of atrocity.  Since leaving West Africa, Dr. Crane has been a leading force in seeking justice for the victims of atrocity crimes through the Global Accountability Network. 

James C. Johnson, Prosecutor, Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone

Mr. Johnson was appointed Chief Prosecutor of the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone in September 2019, by the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.  He is an Adjunct Professor of Law, Director of the Henry T. King Jr. War Crimes Research Office and Faculty Advisor for the Yemen Accountability Project at Case Western Reserve University School of Law.  From 2003 until 2012, Mr. Johnson served as the Chief of Prosecutions for the Special Court for Sierra Leone. As such, Mr. Johnson supervised trial and investigative teams, which prosecuted ten accused, including the former President of Liberia, Charles Taylor, for war crimes, crimes against humanity and other serious violations of international law.  Prior to joining the Special Court for Sierra Leone, Mr. Johnson served for 20 years as a Judge Advocate in the United States Army. 

Stephen J. Rapp

Ambassador Rapp is a distinguished fellow at the Center for Prevention of Genocide at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum working to strengthen the capacity of human rights inquiries to document mass atrocities. He served as US ambassador-at-large for global criminal justice from 2009 to 2015, coordinating US support to international criminal tribunals and hybrid and national courts responsible for prosecuting persons charged with genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. He arranged the UN Commission of Inquiry and other prosecutorial authorities’ access to 55,000 photos documenting torture by the Assad regime. From 2007 to 2009, he served as prosecutor of the SCSL, leading the prosecution of former Liberian President Charles Taylor. His office achieved the first crimes against humanity convictions for sexual slavery and forced marriage, attacks on peacekeepers, and recruitment and use of child soldiers as violations of international humanitarian law. From 2001 to 2007, he served as senior trial attorney and chief of prosecutions at the ICTR, where he led the trial team that achieved the first convictions in history against leaders of the mass media for the crime of direct and public incitement to commit genocide. He was the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa from 1993 to 2001. He received a BA from Harvard College and a JD from Drake University Law School.

Lisa Rose

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