Search: Syria Insta-Symposium
09 May A Brief Response to Kevin Heller’s Comment About My Post
...time when those initiatives were launched, that is what the states then felt they could achieve. That was a political, not legal, calculation. 3) We don’t have any actual decision or pronouncement on the legality of the veto in the face of atrocity crimes; we have no ruling whether there are or aren’t any restraints imposed by international law. 4) The Syria vetoes aren’t about authorizing outside intervention—which I agree can cause more harm than good. Look at the actual Syria vetoes (cited in an early post of mine) –...
05 Oct Trump vs. International Law: The Challenge of Articulating a Legal Framework for Humanitarian Intervention
...by the Deputy Leader of the U.K. Labour Party in the wake of the April 2018 Syria strikes. If one understands Article 2(4) of the U.N. Charter as a blanket prohibition against the non-consensual use of force that has not been authorized by the Security Council—in that it requires member states to “refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations”—then there is not...20 Feb Weekday News Wrap: Wednesday, February 20, 2013
one French soldier has been killed in the ongoing conflict in Mali. A scud-type missile has killed at least 20 people in Syria’s Aleppo, showing evidence that the army is turning to longer-range weapons to battle rebels in Syria’s second-largest city. The UN warns of a “humanitarian tragedy” in Syria as more than 4 million people are in need of assistance. Qatar’s PM has criticised the EU extension of the blanket arms embargo on Syria. The government of Bulgaria has resigned this morning amid mass protests. China’s Defence Ministry has...14 Nov MJIL Symposium: A Response to Spencer Zifcak by Thomas Weiss
[Thomas G Weiss is a Presidential Professor of Political Science at The CUNY Graduate Center and Director of the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies] This post is part of the MJIL 13(1) Symposium. Other posts in this series can be found in the related posts below. Professor Spencer Zifcak’s article on the international reactions to Libya and Syria is thorough and thoughtful, and well worth reading for the treasure trove of documentation. But I was frankly surprised by his unsurprising conclusion that ‘judgments as to whether and when to...
26 Jan Open-Source Digital Evidence in International Criminal Cases: A Way Forward in Ensuring Accountability for Core Crimes?
[Konstantina Stavrou is a researcher and PhD candidate at the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Fundamental and Human Rights in Vienna.] Introduction Seventy-five years after the initiation of the first international criminal trials for the atrocities committed amid the Second World War, the fight against impunity continues. Over recent years, core international crimes, encompassing genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression, are being perpetrated across the globe, including for instance in Syria and Myanmar. In the majority of cases, governments appear unable or unwilling to investigate the...12 Oct Events and Announcements: October 12, 2014
...transitional justice processes for Israel/Palestine, and students will present papers based on their research during the workshop. The conference program available here. For further information please contact minerva@tauex.tau.ac.il. The Rethink Rebuild Society in Manchester will hold a conference on October 17: ‘ Syrian Conflict in Regional Crises: Complications, Implications, and the Way Forward ’ . This conference represents a critical forum through which policy makers, NGOs, academics and activists can together identify and discuss the most appropriate British domestic and international policy towards Syria in light of current research and...
10 Jun Conflict-Related Sexual Violence Symposium: Key findings of CIJA’s Investigation into the IS Slave Trade
characterisations where the right case presents itself. This is also true in relation to cases against other actors in the Syrian conflict. For example, a court conducting proceedings against intelligence officers Anwar R. and Eyad A. in the first trial related to torture in Syrian Regime detention has heard evidence (see day 45) of sexual violence as a facet of the torture inflicted on detainees in Syrian prisons. Legal representatives of the victims have filed a motion to have ordinary sexual offence charges recharacterized as crimes against humanity. Prosecutors may...
20 Feb Why Aren’t We Talking About Sri Lanka Anymore? “Sri Lanka Solution” Followers Face Justice, but Not Sri Lanka
...Lanka committed genocide. International Accountability for Other Adopters of the “Sri Lanka Solution” Does this fact pattern sound familiar? That’s because in the nearly 17 years since the “Sri Lanka solution”—an abusive “counterterrorism” strategy that conflates civilians with legitimate targets—has been a roadmap for other States, like Syria , Myanmar, and Israel, to commit mass atrocities. It’s seen as a useful tactic because, when done well, only impunity follows. Syria’s armed conflict began less than two years after Sri Lanka’s ended and provided Bashar al-Assad’s regime an opportunity to test...