Julia Viebach

Dr. Julia Viebach is a Lecturer at Queen's University Belfast's School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, affiliated with the Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Previously, she was a Senior Lecturer at the University of Bristol and held roles at the University of Oxford, including teaching on MSc programs in Criminology and African Studies. She accepts PhD students focusing on Transitional Justice, International Criminal Justice, and Human Rights Archives.

Her research explores mass violence, memorialization, and transitional justice in post-genocide Rwanda and expanding to South Africa. She employs interdisciplinary methods from socio-legal studies, African/postcolonial studies, and legal anthropology. Current projects include a book on Gacaca judgecraft from a Global South perspective and a grant-funded study on human rights documentation in the digital age.

Recent work emphasizes Rwanda's Gacaca courts, archival challenges in transitional justice, and the role of memory in post-conflict societies. She curated the award-winning Kwibuka Rwanda exhibition, recognized with the University of Oxford Vice Chancellor's Public Engagement Award (2019).

Her activities include invited talks on Rwanda's genocide, editorial roles, and consultancy work with development organizations and German government bodies. She holds a PhD in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Marburg.