The United States Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice is the head of the

Office of Global Criminal Justice The Office of Global Criminal Justice (J/GCJ), formerly called the Office of War Crimes Issues (S/WCI), is an office within the United States Department of State. Duties The Office is headed by an Ambassador: in that position, she advises the Se ...

in the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other na ...

. The ambassador-at-large advises the

United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...

and the

Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights The Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights is a position within the U.S. Department of State that leads the State Department's efforts to prevent and counter threats to civilian security. The Under Secretary oversees ...

directly and formulates U.S. policy responses to atrocities committed in areas of conflict and elsewhere throughout the world. As the President’s envoy, this Ambassador travels worldwide engaging heads of state and

international organization An international organization or international organisation (see spelling differences), also known as an intergovernmental organization or an international institution, is a stable set of norms and rules meant to govern the behavior of states a ...

s to build bilateral and international support for U.S. policies. As part of this, the Ambassador visits affected countries and engages a range of diplomatic, legal, economic, military, and intelligence tools to help secure peace and stability and build the rule of law. As the head of the Office of Global Criminal Justice, this Ambassador also has the rank of Assistant Secretary. David Scheffer served as the first U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues (1997–2001). He was followed by Pierre-Richard Prosper (2001–2005), and John Clint Williamson (2006–2009).Williamson, Clint
/ref> In July 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama nominated

Stephen Rapp Stephen J. Rapp (born January 26, 1949) is an American lawyer and the former United States Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues in the Office of Global Criminal Justice. Career Rapp has been a lawyer in private practice, a Democratic m ...

, a former

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

and prosecutor for the United Nations Special Court for Sierra Leone, to succeed John Clint Williamson as Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues. The Senate confirmed him on September 8, 2009, making Rapp the fourth person to hold the title.

List of ambassadors

References Reference is a relationship between objects in which one object designates, or acts as a means by which to connect to or link to, another object. The first object in this relation is said to ''refer to'' the second object. It is called a ''name'' ...

External links

United States Office of War Crimes Issues
{{United States Assistant Secretaries of State