Search: Syria Insta-Symposium

...(par. 228), and that economic sanctions are not covered by prohibited intervention (par. 245). Kohen provides a few other examples (at 161, another article of relevance can be found here), but the spectrum of policy measures that have been considered as part of R2P is very diverse. Does the prohibition of intervention prohibit the setting up of ‘safe zones along the Turkish-Syria and Jordan-Syria border with humanitarian corridors leading up to them’, as proposed by some European politicians? Does it prohibit support to NGOs who campaign for freedom? Does it...

Syrian Prime Minister Riyad Hijab has defected from what he terms the “terrorist regime” of President Bashar al-Assad, while violence rages on in Aleppo. IPS offers an insight into what these high-level defections mean for Syria’s future. Syria is also losing support of its ally Iran, whose Foreign Minister will visit Turkey today to discuss the situation in Syria and the capture of Iranian nationals. Hilary Clinton is visiting South Africa, where Syria will also be on the agenda. Also in South Africa, former Irish President and former UN High...

Syria has rejected the bid from the Arab League offering an exit for President Al-Assad. Syria has warned of a chemical attack on invaders, according to Al Jazeera. Reuters reports that the West has warned Syria about their use. Foreign Policy analyzes the origin of the confusion surrounding whether and how Syria has threatened to use these weapons. Foreign Policy also offers a context piece entitled The Fog of Civil War, giving more insight into the complicated ongoing conflict. World markets have plummeted amid Eurozone fears, though Italian Prime Minister...

[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...

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...

...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...

On the day we mark 100 years of the Peace Palace in The Hague, the US and its allies are readying for a military intervention in Syria with Australia saying it would back military action, even without a Security Council resolution. Action may come within days. China’s top paper accused the US of wanting regime change in Syria and likened any military action the US might take to the overthrow of Saddam Hussein 10 years. The Long War Journal reports that jihadists in the area are also concerned about US...

Libya, see, e.g., http://ssrn.com/abstract=2061835 The war in Iraq and Syria is an IAC against an insurgent (ISIS) in at least two states and it is permissible re: U.S. et al. attacks on ISIS under U.N. Charter, art. 51 -- collective self-defense with the consent of the govt. of Iraq. Kumar Firstly, coalition forces have been bombing and hitting IS targets in Syria and Iraq for quite some time. Secondly, Article V is subject to the provisions of the UN Charter. Till date none of the coalition partners or Russia or...

situation in the West Bank from the Sinai Peninsula, which Israel withdrew from following the peace treaty with Egypt, and the Golan Heights, from which Israel might decide to withdraw from following the conclusion of a peace treaty with Syria. The West Bank is different, so the argument goes, as no state had sovereignty over it before to 1967, in contrast to the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights, where Egypt and Syria had sovereignty. Accordingly, Israel can stay in the West Bank without having to annex it. One of...

...operation notwithstanding the absence of authorization, and that the backing down was at his discretion. But in this context, actions speak louder than words. Asking for the authorization effected a constitutional giveaway; there’s no chance of a constitutional clawback, at least not for now. This is of course not to say that a Syria strike on unilateral presidential authority would have solved the Syria situation. But it would have left the US in a far better position internationally than we’re likely to find ourselves a couple of weeks from now....

In December, Saad Hariri, Lebanon’s prime minister and Rafik’s son, met with Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, acceding to the reconciliation between his own political sponsor, Saudi Arabia, and Damascus — making Lebanon less likely to point the finger at Syria for the killing. But the more significant problem actually lies within the United Nations investigation itself. While it has been upgraded to a special tribunal, sitting near The Hague, it has suffered from questionable leadership, lost key members and last year had to release suspects for lack of formal indictments....

It looks like President Obama learned his lesson. Last summer he decided to seek Congress’s advance approval for a strike against Syria’s chemical weapons capabilities. Political support for the operation evaporated. Obama looked weak and waffly (the decision was taken on a dime after a 45-minute South Lawn stroll with chief of staff Denis McDonough, almost certainly not vetted through the legal chain of command). Even though the ISIS operation will probably be more significant than what he had in mind for Assad, he won’t be looking for a formal...