Search: Syria Insta-Symposium
07 Jan Three Lingering Questions about the Legality of Withdrawal from Syria: Part I – Complicity by Omission
U.S.’ decision to withdraw its forces, which, when combined with its decision not to criticize Turkey’s invasion as it was beginning, is said to have amounted to an effective “green light” to President Erdogan. Turkey had made clear its plans to intervene since at least January, and in a dramatic move, the U.S. began withdrawing the majority of its 1,000 troops in northern Syria after a phone call in early October. Until then, U.S. forces had been working to fight ISIS with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who had...30 Aug Not Even the Brits Can Make the Case Bombing Syria Is Lawful
Good thing nothing much happened while I was away on summer vacation… So as I wrote here last spring, there’s no clear basis under international law for a U.S. use of force in Syria – no UN Security Council resolution, and no apparent claim at this stage that the United States is acting in self-defense. The only theory of legality in play seems to be the one put forward by the British government, right before Parliament voted to reject the use of force in Syria. Namely, that force may be...18 Jul Syria and New Scholarship in International Law
invites us to think about what level of control is required, and what values are served by high or low thresholds in each instance. Finally, there are a spate of new reports out about the situation in Syria. Two which I have found particularly insightful are The Syrian Heartbreak by Peter Harling and Sarah Birke, and the International Crisis Group’s new report Syria’s Metastasizing Conflict. Have you read anything on the legal implications of the Syrian conflict you would recommend? Please use the comments box to add to this list....10 Apr Implications of the Rohingya Argument for Libya and Syria (and Jordan)
The more interesting case is Syria, given that Syria is not a member of the ICC and there is little chance the Security Council will refer the situation in Syria to the Court anytime soon. There are two scenarios worth discussing here: (1) deportations by the Syrian government or by various Syrian rebel groups into a neighbouring state; and (2) deportations by the Syrian government or by various Syrian rebel groups onto the high seas. Going in reverse order, the ICC would have no jurisdiction over any deportation from Syria...
20 Apr Symposium: The Responsibility to Protect in Libya and Syria–Introductory Post
[Yasmine Nahlawi is an independent researcher specialising in R2P and its applicability to the Syrian and Libyan conflicts. She holds a PhD in Public International Law from Newcastle University, LLM in International Legal Studies from Newcastle University, and BSc in Political Science from Eastern Michigan University.] Throughout the Syrian conflict, I led policy initiatives for civilian protection alongside civil society leaders, iNGOs, and public officials within the UK and wider Europe. Despite the flagrant international law violations committed within the conflict that amounted to mass atrocity crimes, and despite the...