Search: Syria Insta-Symposium
21 Apr Symposium: On the Promise and Potential of R2P
[Shannon Raj Singh is a Visiting Fellow of Practice at Oxford University, where she is researching the duty to prevent atrocity crimes with the Institute for Ethics, Law & Armed Conflict’s Programme on International Peace and Security. Shannon is also an Associate Legal Officer at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the STL.] It is difficult to talk about the survival of a doctrine aimed at human protection in contexts like Syria and Libya....08 Sep Weekly News Wrap: Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Your weekly selection of international law and international relations headlines from around the world: Africa Kenya plans to launch a military offensive against Islamist militants who have set up bases in a remote forest at the northern tip of its Indian Ocean coastline bordering Somalia, a police official said on Monday. Middle East and Northern Africa Iran’s president has said his country is ready to hold talks with the United States and Saudi Arabia on ways to resolve the Syrian civil war. Several Turkish soldiers have been killed and others...03 Sep Weekday News Wrap: Tuesday, September 3, 2013
The UN chemical weapons inspection team in Syria is set to begin transferring samples that it has collected from the country to the laboratories for testing. More than 2 million refugees have now fled Syria’s civil war, piling pressure on neighboring host countries according to the UN. Sweden is set to change its asylum law and grant permanent residency to those approved from Syria instead of three-year temporary permits. Another sampling of the discussion happening around the web with regard to Syria: a post on Lawfare about how the 9/11...12 Jul Weekday News Wrap: Thursday, July 12, 2012
Syria has been hit by a wave of defections, with the latest–that of the ambassador to Iraq–coming yesterday. Kofi Annan has urged the UN to “reunite” regarding plans moving forward with Syria, suggesting “consequences” were Syria not to comply with the latest ceasefire calls. A human rights group, Women Under Siege, has reported that sexual violence is being used in Syria as a weapon in the conflict. Tensions between Japan and China are escalating ahead of an ASEAN summit over the islands dispute in the East China Sea. The Special...
12 Jul Intervention in Civil Wars Symposium: The Importance (and Limitations) of Legitimacy During Foreign Intervention in Civil Wars
...has remained in power despite committing numerous atrocities against the Syrian people. At the early stages of the Syrian civil war in 2011 and 2012, several states, the U.N. Secretary General, and numerous scholars and commentators concluded that Assad and his government had lost its legitimacy and no longer represented the will of the Syrian people. In turn, numerous governments called for Assad to resign and recognized the Syrian Opposition Council (SOC) as the true representative of the Syrian people. However, in 2015 the Russian government intervened in Syria at...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...
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...
22 May Tools to Violate International Law: Armed Drones in Germany and the Government’s Legal Position
...State coalition and the use of German Tornado aircrafts in Syrian airspace. Germany stated that ISIL’s armed attacks, for example in France, are sufficient to activate the collective right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter. This position implicitly assumes that the right to self-defense also applies against non-state actors and that the affected state’s consent – here, Syria – is not necessary because it previously lost control over parts of its territory to ISIL. The declaration is extremely short, and Germany has avoided explaining how the terrorist...16 Feb Important New Terrorist Financing Resolution Passed by Security Council
and to secure the safe release of hostages, and reaffirms the need for all Member States to cooperate closely during incidents of kidnapping and hostage-taking committed by terrorist groups.” In so doing, it attempts to cut off funds derived from ransom, and reaffirms that UN sanctions prohibit ransom payments to UN listed groups. Fourth, the resolution was drafted by Russia. While Russia’s opposition to intervention in Syria and is well known, this is an example of positive engagement with the situation in Syria. Although the resolution does not authorize intervention,...13 Nov Weekday News Wrap: Tuesday, November 13, 2012
...to stem rocket attacks from the Gaza strip. Israeli Defence Forces also fired into Syria for the second day in a row in retaliation over mortar shells from Syria spilling over into Israeli territory. Over at Armed Groups and International Law, Dan Saxon offers an analysis of the ethical and legal obligations of journalists covering the conflict in Syria. The UK has ordered the provisional release of Abu Qatada instead of his deportation to Jordan. The UN has elected 18 new countries, one of which is the United States, to...