Search: Syria Insta-Symposium
21 Oct Turkey’s Operation “Peace Spring” and International Law
[ Vito Todeschini is an Associate Legal Adviser at the International Commission of Jurists’ MENA Programme] On 9 October 2019, Turkey launched operation “Peace Spring” in the territory known as Rojava, in north-east Syria. The operation aimed at driving the Kurdish-led People’s Protection Units (YPG) and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) out of a number of towns close to the Turkish border and to create a “safe zone” where to resettle Syrian refugees. After days of fighting, a United States-brokered ceasefire has temporarily halted major hostilities in view of the evacuation...08 May Dr. Mohamed Helal’s Defense of Russia’s Syria Vetoes & Power Politics – A Rejoinder to His Criticism of My Post
he claims that, in relationship to the situation in Syria, the Permanent Members “have exercised the veto exactly as anticipated when the UN Charter was negotiated.” In fact, current practice is far removed from the substance of the 1945 negotiations. Examining each of Russia’s 12 vetoes (sometimes joined by China) related to Syria, we see vetoes of resolutions to: (1) condemn continued widespread and gross violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms (draft resolution S/2011/612); (2) condemn bombing and shelling of population centers and condemn the detention of thousands in...07 Nov International Law and the U.S. Election: Trumpxit, Syria and State Marijuana Laws
...in Syria that doesn’t seem to clearly fit into the Geneva Convention’s categories for either international or non-international armed conflicts. On a domestic legal front, the US Congress has not specifically authorized the action in Syria as well, making its domestic legality questionable at the very least. The next President will have to decide how to frame the Syria conflict under international and US constitutional law. My guess is that both Clinton and Trump would follow the Obama approach of treating the conflict as a non-international armed conflict against the...10 Sep What Does Putting Syria’s Chemical Weapons Under “International Control” Mean? (And Some Thoughts on Russia’s Use of International Legal Rhetoric)
destroying all existing chemical weapons under international verification by the OPCW; 2. monitoring chemical industry to prevent new weapons from re-emerging; 3. providing assistance and protection to States Parties against chemical threats; and 4. fostering international cooperation to strengthen implementation of the Convention and promote the peaceful use of chemistry. See their annual reports here. Although Syria is not a signatory to the CWC, given the OPCW’s expertise, it is a fair assumption that they would be involved in some capacity in any international control of Syria’s chemical weapons. The...13 Sep Does the Washington Post Editorial Page Have ANY Standards Left?
is required to bring some wars to an end. And yet there’s been little evidence of that sentiment in American opposition to missile strikes against military targets in Syria. Obama has specifically disclaimed any intention to end the Syrian civil war through military action. But whatever. Even after 1,400 Syrian civilians, including 400 children, were killed in a nerve gas attack that was in all likelihood carried out by government forces, the prospect of American military intervention has been met with a combination of short-sighted isolationism and reflex pacifism —...
05 Dec Russia’s Attack on Kafr Nabl Surgical Hospital and the Role of Open Source Information in Building a Case for Legal Accountability
Surgical Hospital in Idlib, Syria, on 5 May 2019. Two brothers died as a result of the attack, and the lives of approximately 30 people working in and using the hospital were endangered. Attacks of this type were, and are, a common feature of the conflict in Syria, to the extent that the UN Security Council issued a resolution calling for the protection of medical facilities. These attacks are widely documented online, and Syrian documenters have filmed and shared extensive footage of attacks on hospitals and their aftermath. On 1...16 Nov Why It’s Not Surprising Syria Is Destroying Its Chemical Weapons
revulsion. So what’s his motivation? For reasons of his own, he must have decided that he was better off without chemical weapons than with them. Perhaps it has to do with the internal political situation in Syria. Or maybe Russia got fed up for some reason. But it’s a bit of a mystery, and not one that I’ve seen any plausible explanations for. I don’t think it’s a mystery at all. Here is the explanation: Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad have firmly seized the momentum in the country’s...
29 Sep On the Anvil: The Netherlands v. Syrian Arab Republic at the International Court of Justice?
to the International Criminal Court; and yet another relates to the critical role of fact-finding and evidence gathering, being undertaken by the International Impartial and Independent Mechanism for Syria and other actors. However, important as these are, I focus on the route that has been chosen by the Netherlands in this instance – that of the CAT and its potential application to the International Court of Justice. In its press statement, referencing a diplomatic note sent to the Syrian government, the Netherlands states: “The Netherlands has invoked Syria’s responsibility for...
23 Aug International Investment Law Symposium: Is Foreign Direct Investment a Blessing or a Grift?
...readers to the works of Akinkugbe, Anghie, Miles, Perrone, Sattorova, Sornarajah, and many others (Afronomicslaw is an excellent source of material on the debate). We also showcase the Symposium we launched today. Three months ago, we invited scholars to contribute to a discussion on FDI in Latin America and the Caribbean. We raised the concerns detailed above: while we acknowledge that FDI can play a role in fostering development in host states, we wondered about the regional Economic Commission’s verdict: “there is no evidence to suggest that FDI contributed to...
17 Sep Symposium on Early Career International Law Academia: Call for Abstracts
...interested in contributing blog posts to the symposium are invited to send an abstract of not more than 150 words by 5 October 2021. Expressions of interest should be submitted to Dr Ntina Tzouvala (ntina.tzouvala@anu.edu.au) and/or Dr Barrie Sander (b.j.sander@luc.leidenuniv.nl). Decisions on abstracts will be delivered by 20 October 2021. The deadline for the full drafts is 30 November 2021. The symposium will be co-hosted by Opinio Juris and Afronomicslaw in the first quarter of 2022. Symposium Organisers Dr Srinivas Burra Ms Julia Emtseva Dr Barrie Sander Dr Ntina Tzouvala...