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Search: Syria Insta-Symposium

05 Oct

most attention, the abstention by Syria’s neighbour, Lebanon (which holds the presidency of the Security Council) was just as illuminating. Apart from these key differences in the dynamics of the cases of Syria and Libya, there is another, more nuanced issue to consider. Why is it that anyone would, indeed, expect UN Security Council member states to successfully agree to condemn or sanction Syria? The answer seems to me to be that there is a prevalent belief that because it happened in Libya, it was feasible for it to happen...
05.10.11 | |

20 May

groups formed fluid and often opportunistic alliances, gaining strength and forcing the Syrian Government to rapidly cede territory. From November 2012 and over the next six years, Syrian Government forces laid siege to dozens of opposition-held areas. The use of siege warfare across Syria was carried out in a planned and coordinated manner, and was characterised by repeated attacks against objects indispensable to the survival (OIS) of the civilian population, including open-air markets, bakeries, and venues offering humanitarian assistance. In two emblematic examples, the Syria Commission was mandated by the...
20.05.21 | |

14 Jun

...procedures aimed at mitigating or preventing abuse or misconduct by supported Syrian groups – to a surprising degree given the conflict context, the limited US force presence in Syria, and the absence in many cases of US domestic legal requirements to take such steps. The earliest US assistance to Syrian armed groups was the State Department non-lethal assistance (e.g., trucks, communications equipment, medical and humanitarian supplies) to select groups associated with the Free Syrian Army (FSA), which was underway by early 2013. From mid-2013, the CIA followed suit, covertly providing...
14.06.21 | |

13 Aug

[Isabelle Bienfait is a programme co-ordinator at eyeWitness to Atrocities] Two recent convictions of Syrian nationals for crimes committed during the civil war merit attention. On 16 June 2025, Syrian-born Alaa M. was convicted by a Frankfurt court for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed at several medical and military facilities. A few weeks earlier, on 28 May 2025, a Paris court made headlines when it sentenced former spokesperson and senior official of the Syrian armed group Jaysh al-Islam, Majdi N., for complicity in the war crimes of conscripting...
13.08.25 | |

15 Mar

Court of Justice A non-criminal option to bring accountability to Syrians is currently being pursued by the Netherlands and Canada. On 18 September 2020, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a diplomatic note to inform the Syrian government that “the Netherlands has invoked Syria’s responsibility … under the UN Convention against Torture [CAT] … remind[ing] Syria of its international obligations to cease the violations and offer victims full reparation.” In accordance with the three-step process envisaged under article 30 of the CAT, the Netherlands have asked Syria to enter...
15.03.21 | |

26 Aug

...be? Anne-Marie Judson If Syria was removed from the United Nations, (because it is not abiding by United Nations Charter conditions) then Syria would no longer be a legitimate state, therefore United Nations member states would no longer consider Syria a state in the sense that it was to be protected by the United Nations rules and regulations. If this is at all possible then it would not be a question of intervention or attack in relation to the United Nations rules and mechanisms (in regards to the Security Council)...
26.08.13 | |

17 Jun

I wanted to thank all of our participants for a wonderful “insta-symposium” on Boumediene. I certainly learned a tremendous amount from our guests and greatly appreciate their willingness to participate and thoughtfully engage. I wanted to end by addressing some of the comments expressed concerning the format of these insta-symposia, especially on the issue of diversity. In organizing this event, I took pains to find experts in the field who provided diversity in terms of viewpoint (left and right), seniority (young scholars and seasoned veterans), professional expertise (historians, advocates, military...
17.06.08 | |

29 Apr

...instance Gibney, Skogly, and Vandenhole, Erdem Türkelli and Hammonds. However, the mainstream approach seems to remain within the confines of the case law of politically limited courts; and thus, a renewed call to this alternative perspective is called for. *** In this blog symposium, participants who have previously engaged in depth with these fascinating questions, have honoured us by joining us in this conversation through the format of the blog series. This blog symposium is an output of the Scientific Research Network ‘Extraterritorial Human Rights Obligations in Practice’ which is...
29.04.24 | |

08 Oct

...recognition of the SNC as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people. What is the Assad regime under the circumstances? What entity represents the Syrian people and their quest for self-determination? The SNC can consent to outside assistance and use of force as a "belligerent" and as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people. At least, the matter is far more complex than most of the EJIL and Opinio Juris essays seem to recognize. A strong case can be made that some uses of force would not violate Article 2(4)...
08.10.13 | |

22 Jan

Former Bush State Department Legal Adviser John Bellinger has a complicated op-ed arguing that the U.S. should be prepared to intervene militarily in Syria, even if its intervention is not strictly legal. His argument is complicated because he rejects the idea that any intervention in Syria now, even with the agreement of the Syrian Opposition, would violate existing international law. The escalating death toll in Syria, which exceeds 60,000, has increased pressure on President Barack Obama to do more to help the Syrian opposition. But traditional legal rules that protect...
22.01.13 | |

06 Apr

but I think unpersuasive. The United States today has its own troops on the ground in Syria – troops that were not present in 2013, troops stationed (at least some of them) as close as 50 miles away from the site of the chemical weapons attack. In the abstract, one might imagine this could lead the United States to offer some sort of self-defense justification (in defense of our own nationals). But given our troops are in Syria (to fight ISIS) without Syrian consent, and given Syria’s apparent determination since...
06.04.17 | |

25 Apr

conflict (IAC) between the US and Syria, meaning that a different and more extensive set of rules apply. Depending on the position adopted, this could lead to either the internationalization of the conflict in Syria, meaning that there would be an IAC between all the actors (including ISIL) or that there would be a situation of mixed conflicts, IAC between the US and Syria and a NIAC for all the other actors, which in turn would lead to different applicable rules. It remains to be seen how this will materialize....
25.04.17 | |