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Search: Syria Insta-Symposium

29 Aug

...at this time, despite mention in Parliament of the related R2P doctrine. A more sophisticated claim might involve use of the concept in connection with a policy-serving and textually correct reading of Article 2(4) of the U.N. Charter in the context of a civil war in Syria and substantial outside recognition of the "rebels" as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people -- that only three types of force are proscribed, that none pertain under special circumstances re: Syria, etc. -- especially if the "rebels" consent to use of force....
29.08.13 | |

02 Oct

KC I wonder what the US would make of this in context of the President's earlier assertion that it would act in defense of the "new U.S.-backed fighting force in Syria if it is attacked by Syrian government forces or other groups". Obviously, I doubt that the President intends for this statement to drag him into another Cold War era style proxy war with Russia, but it would be interesting to see how all these things connect together in the minds of US officials). Ref: http://www.wsj.com/articles/pentagon-to-defend-new-syria-force-from-assad-regime-others-1438549937 Jordan First, what section...
02.10.15 | |

19 Jun

support within Syria - one rebel commander saying, dejectedly, that 70% of the Sunni city of Aleppo supported Assad, not because they liked him but because he is regarded as better than the alternative) to create an Islamic State of one kind or another. It is hardly in the west's interests to see that end come about. Do we protect the rebels who are jihadists? How do we distinguish and influence matters on the ground? 3. Military intervention will be an act of war, requiring attacks against Syrian missile installations,...
19.06.13 | |

12 Jun

...weapons to Syria rebels would constitute complicity in resulting crimes. Thus, individuals wishing to interact with these rebel groups would be put “in an impossible situation,” such that they “cannot provide the organization with any assistance at all.” But at least two basic features of accomplice liability and one component of blame attribution writ large, expose both these statements as serious hyperbole. On a robust account of complicity, American and British governments could assist the Gestapo, the Interahamwe, the Taliban, Syrian rebels and any other bloodthirsty armed group without becoming...
12.06.13 | |

13 Feb

...and now, they have become more suspicious ,concerning , biased western court . 3.Beyond that : they are now seriously implicated and engaged in Syria , in their fight against Daesh ( IS ) . Here, we deal with strict and direct involvement, huge devastation, huge amount of refugees, and much more brutal war (without any accusations right now). Now : 4.One may wonder , what jurisdiction has the ICC on Syria ? yet , Fatou Bensouda, already declared in the past , that she may seek jurisdiction , on...
13.02.16 | |

27 Apr

This week on Opinio Juris, we continued last week‘s Kiobel Insta-Symposium. Quoting from his and John Yoo’s Forbes contribution, Julian argued that the rejection of universal civil jurisdiction is common sense because it leaves the decision on foreign policy consequences of extraterritoriality to the political branches. He also drew our attention to two positive assessments of the opinion, by John Bellinger and Eugene Kontorovich. Austen Parrish offered an alternative narrative about the meaning of Kiobel, seeing it as a welcome retreat from US unilateralism towards more multilateralism. The many unanswered...
27.04.13 | |

02 Sep

Just as Syria has been our main focus the last few days with our Insta-Symposium, there has been a lot written elsewhere on the developing situation. Just a sampling of a couple other articles of note: one from William Schabas on intervention as aggression and one from Charli Carpenter urging us not to use the term “humanitarian” for this intervention. Foreign Policy urges Congress to think hard about Obama’s plan. Additionally, Reuters covers Syria’s request to the Security Council to intervene on the potential US intervention. In other news, A...
02.09.13 | |

10 Jan

...posed to illustrate the problem and I ask my students is whether Syria has the right to use force today to retake the Golan Heights which were captured by Israel in 1967. Its now 40 years after the event. Some might argue that given the passage of time Syria is bound to use diplomatic means. Syria might argue that the passage of time shows diplomacy has not and will not work and that it has no other means of retaking this territory thus demonstrating that the use of force is...
10.01.07 | |

02 Apr

...those leaders tomorrow if it had them in custody. Indeed, Fatou Bensouda has already mentioned the possibility of such nationality-based prosecutions. Moreover, a Security Council referral may be more trouble than it’s worth. John himself notes a major problem: if the territorial parameters of any such referral exposed members of the Syrian government to ICC jurisdiction, Russia and/or China would almost certainly veto the referral. And what if the referral exposed Syrian rebels to ICC jurisdiction? I can’t imagine the US, France, and the UK would be too keen about...
02.04.15 | |

01 Aug

...have rallied against the alleged mistreatment of young people in detention, including the hooding and physical restraint of teens, amid calls for an inquiry into the abuse to be expanded and the United Nation High Commission on Human Rights called on Australia on Friday to compensate children abused in prison. UN/World The U.N. Deputy Special Envoy for Syria on Sunday held talks with Syrian officials in Damascus to sound out their position on how to break an impasse hindering the proposed resumption of peace talks around the end of August....
01.08.16 | |

03 Aug

Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has quit as Syria’s peace envoy after becoming frustrated with “finger-pointing” at the UN while the battle in Syria rages on. IPS offers more context here. China has expressed its regret. Meanwhile, a UN resolution on Syria goes to the General Assembly today, criticizing the Security Council for failing to take action and denouncing the use of force on civilians by the Syrian government. The UN Security Council did, however, demand and end to foreign support of rebels in the Democratic Republic of the...
03.08.12 | |

30 May

...non grata. Interestingly, Belgium can’t expel the Syrian ambassador, because he is also ambassador to the EU and there is no agreement on diplomatic sanctions against Syria within the EU. Foreign Policy has more on what expelling a diplomat entails and the five worst atrocities of the Syrian uprising. Two Danish brothers of Somali origin have been arrested in Denmark connected with allegedly planning an al-Shebab terrorist plot. A former Rwandan school teacher living in Canada pleaded not guilty yesterday to involvement in the Rwandan Genocide; his charges are one...
30.05.12 | |