Search: Syria Insta-Symposium

For lack of evidence, former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic has been acquitted of one of two counts of genocide he faces at the ICTY at this mid-point in his trial. He faces 10 other charges, including the other genocide charge affiliated with the Srebrenica massacre, wherein 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed (ICTY press release here). Turkey has sent a military convoy to its border with Syria. Regarding the Turkish fighter jet that was shot down by Syrian forces, Foreign Policy in Focus (FPIF) tells us what that...

[Kingsley Abbott is the International Commission of Jurists’ Senior Legal Adviser for Global Redress and Accountability & Saman Zia-Zarifi is the Secretary General of the International Commission of Jurists. This is the first part of a two-part post.] Introduction The International Independent Investigative Mechanism for Syria and the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar are recent examples of States responding to situations where avenues for accountability for crimes under international law are otherwise limited. Both mechanisms, created respectively through the United Nations General Assembly and the United Nations Human Rights Council...

The UK has put a proposed resolution before the Security Council on Syria calling for military action to protect civilians, perhaps delaying US action. China has also called for restraint and calm in the situation, saying any intervention in the region would only make the turmoil worse. Human Rights Watch has a statement on possible intervention in Syria calling on all parties to follow international humanitarian law and for the situation to be referred to the ICC, and the Arms Control Blog offers an analysis of a new potential rationale...

was stored away in a Sarajevo museum on Saturday to mark the 20th anniversary of the peace deal that ended the Bosnian war but left the country deeply divided and dysfunctional. Americas The Washington D.C. Holocaust Museum has called on to the US not to turn away Syrian refugees; the museum expressed concern over refugee crisis, called on politicians to “not turn” their backs on Syrians fleeing conflict. Additionally, rights groups have criticized American politicians’ comments about Muslims as a debate over the future of Syrian refugees in the United...

...double talking the international community while the streets in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria run red with blood. Kevin Jon Heller Well, you will never see the ICC prosecute someone in Syria or Iraq without a UNSC referral, as it does not otherwise have jurisdiction. And given that the OTP is waiting for authorization to formally investigate in Afghanistan, you should cut them at least a little slack. Jackdaw @Kevin The 'hard working Prosecutors' of the ICC, who needed to enlist Angelina and Brad Pitt to help them capture Joseph Kony....

...speech, the report uses specific Facebook posts to support its findings. In one instance, the report cites a Facebook post from the Myanmar State Counsellor Office as its source for the Government’s position on when the operations in Rakhine State ended (§49). In other instances, the use of Facebook posts is more interesting. One particular post by the military’s Commander-in-Chief attracted attention: ‘The Bengali problem was a long-standing one which has become an unfinished job despite the efforts of previous governments to solve it. The government in office is taking...

...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...

...Foreign Minister Lieberman said yesterday that he would like the Egyptian resident to also visit Israel, in order to back up his reassuring words about peace between the two countries. The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has asked for an immediate investigation into the deaths of more than 200 civilians in Daraya, Syria. The exodus of hundreds of thousands of refugees in Syria to bordering countries has increased pressure for a buffer zone inside of Syria. Human Rights Watch encourages neighboring countries to keep their borders open for the refugees....

...post argues that President Obama’s public reference to old bilateral immunity agreements, Samantha Power’s calls for an independent Syria tribunal, and Harold Koh’s frustration with the Court’s inefficiency have heralded a new age of American opposition to the Court. This new stage is quite apart from the phantom concerns of the past, but all too concrete in its frustration with the ICC. The Bush administration’s second term in office is widely recognized as an important turning point in America’s relationship with the ICC. In particular, the UN Security Council (UNSC)...

The Syrian army has launched fierce attacks against rebel forces, who had made a stronghold in Damascus. Fighting has also spread to Aleppo. The UN has extended its monitoring mission in Syria another 30 days. The Arab League has called for Syrian President Assad to resign and has offered Assad and his family a safe exit from Syria. Turkey has sent a battery of ground-to-air missiles to its border with Syria. China will formerly garrison the disputed South China Sea, a move that will likely increase tensions throughout the region....

...children and shoots rockets at apartment buildings. And we must remain engaged to assure that what began with citizens demanding their rights does not end in a cycle of sectarian violence. Together, we must stand with those Syrians who believe in a different vision – a Syria that is united and inclusive; where children don’t need to fear their own government, and all Syrians have a say in how they are governed – Sunnis and Alawites; Kurds and Christians. That is what America stands for; that is the outcome that...

In Syria, fresh clashes have broken out in Damascus and Aleppo, even though the defected Prime Minister Hijab has said the regime is close to collapse. Human Rights Watch reports that fighter planes have struck a hospital in Aleppo, while Reuters provides an exclusive about Libyan fighters joining the rebel forces. US Defense Secretary Panetta has accused Iran of supporting pro-Assad militias in Syria. Meanwhile, China has argued Western states’ attempts to engineer a regime change in Syria undermine solidarity on the UN Security Council. The Guardian reports that Ecuador...