In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Author: Jessica Dorsey

31 Jan

Israel has carried out air strikes close to the Syria-Lebanese border. Donors have pledged $1.5 million to aid civilians displaced by the conflict in Syria. British PM Cameron has visited Algeria to discuss responses to the threat of terrorism. French troops have captured the last Islamist stronghold in Mali. ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda warned the Malian government over reports of human rights abuses by Malian forces. The UN Human Rights Council...

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30 Jan

Special Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has appealed to the UN Security Council to take action on Syria which he said is "breaking up before everyone's eyes". Meanwhile, there are reports of a new massacre in Aleppo as more than 71 bodies were found by a river. Israel has boycotted the Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review of the rights situation in Israel, which has left the body with...

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29 Jan

Rep. Edward Royce, Chairman of the US House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs Committee, has urged China to participate in the arbitration proceedings lodged by the Philippines over their dispute regarding the South China Sea. The US military has started preparations for a drone base in Western Africa, presumably in Niger or in Burkina Faso. A judge in Guatemala has ordered Mr Rios Montt, a former dictator and...

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28 Jan

Talks have broken down at the African Union summit in Ethiopia on plans to solve the crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo.The UN wants to set up an intervention force to fight rebels fueling conflict in the DRC, according to a UN official.According to B’Tselem, a rights group, Israel is breaking its own rules of engagement by using deadly...

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25 Jan

The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights while Countering Terrorism, Ben Emmerson, announced the launch of a special investigation into drone warfare and targeted killings yesterday. The United Nations is planning to consider later this year the scientific validity of a claim by China that a group of disputed islands in the East China Sea are part of its territory, although Japan says...

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24 Jan

North Korea has said it would carry out further rocket launches and a nuclear test that would target the United States. Several European leaders have criticized British Prime Minister David Cameron's demand for radical reform of the EU and promise of an "in-out" referendum on UK membership. US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has decided to lift the military's ban on women serving in combat, a move...

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23 Jan

US Trade Representative Ron Kirk is stepping down in late February. UK Prime Minister David Cameron has given his long-awaited speech on UK membership of the EU, promising a referendum in 2017 if the Conservative Party wins the 2015 elections. North Korea has responded angrily to the UN Security Council Resolution condemning its December rocket launch and expanding sanctions against the state. Jordan is holding elections today under...

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22 Jan

Russia is evacuating its citizens from Syria, which is interpreted as a loss of confidence in President Assad's chances of winning the civil war. The US has circulated a draft UN Security Council Resolution condemning last month's rocket launch in North Korea. The resolution has the support of China and presumably also Russia. A Japanese lawmaker is in Beijing for talks to defuse...

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21 Jan

A UN report released yesterday entitled Treatment of Conflict Detainees in Afghan Custody: One Year On (report found here, press release found here) claims that Afghan authorities are still torturing prisoners, such as hanging them by their wrists and beating them with cables. A police office in Kabul has been attacked earlier today by Taliban forces, in a second attack on a government building...

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20 Jan

Upcoming Events The tenth edition of the Young International Lawyers Research Forum will be held on January 24-25, 2013, at the University of Catania with the theme of A Lackland Law? Territory, Effectiveness and Jurisdiction in International and European Law" / "Un Diritto Senza Terra? Funzioni e Limiti del Principio Di Territorialità nel Diritto Internazionale e Dell’unione Europea. The program is available here. The Santa Clara Journal of International Law will...

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18 Jan

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi has appeared in a court for the first time since his capture last year, in the western town of Zintan, where he is facing charges related to a visit by an ICC lawyer last year. Jurist has more here. US and ECOWAS troops will support France’s mission in Mali. Armed Groups in International Law has an insightful post on...

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17 Jan

A team from the IAEA is in Tehran for nuclear talks with the Iranian regime. The ICC has launched an investigation into the situation in Mali, as Western troops continue to assist Mali's government in its fight against the al-Qaeda linked rebels. The ICC press release can be found here and Jurist has more here. An al-Qaeda affiliate group is holding a group of at least 20 foreign...

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