Search: Syria Insta-Symposium

...many Arab states declared war on Israel, and while some of them (Egypt, Jordan) have made peace, others (Syria, Lebanon) are still formally at war with Israel. Palestine was to be partitioned into two countries, but Gaza was seized by the Egyptians. Gaza is now unoccupied territory not part of any recognized country, but run by Hamas an ally of Syria and Hezbollah who are part of a formal international armed conflict. There are, therefore, several different competing legal theories about why Israel is entitled to blockade Gaza. It could...

...of recognition of belligerency would be considered to still be in place [which is doubtful after the adoption of the 1949 Geneva Convention, which extended (part of) the laws of war to fighting between a State and an armed opposition group - as did recognition of belligerency do prior to that time, although such recognition obviously served more purposes], and be considered applicable for Syria, it would only apply to the part of the Syrian opposition that has in fact been recognised (SNC). However, in the diffuse Syrian conflict there...

...on their behalves that Israel broke the law. Was Israel? Was Israel wrong? Frankly, if I was Israel, given the hypocrisy of countries like Turkey and the UN calling for an independent investigation into violations of the law and the manner in which this country typically is treated, I wouldn't care one whit. Really, if the world thinks countries like Libya, Syria or Iran belong on an international organ like the Human Rights Commission, where is the even semblance of respect for international laws??? Kevin Jon Heller Elliot, Hmm, last...

...no claims to it before 2000, and those claims are not taken seriously by anyone; the U.N. in 2000 even stated that some of Lebanon's proffered "evidence" was forged. The only real ownership dispute is between Israel and Syria. (The land lies at the intersection of Israel, Lebanon and Syria.) Peggy McGuinness EK-- My comments were meant to capture the historical realities of peace agreements. I am not sure it is any more a "defeat" of international law when parties agree to settle wars than it is a defeat for...

...think your analysis misses a substantive element of the balance between the ability to conduct military operations and the duty to minimize civilian casualties. Mostly, I am having a difficult time with your argument that civilians have no duty to leave a mixed use civilian-combatant target even after they have been warned that it will be targeted in the near future for attack. In instances where the civilians have no free will (held at gun-point by Hamas) you may have a point (though then we have a host of other...

...the special protective regime of IHL for certain objects, including works and installations containing dangerous forces and the natural environment (including water resources), and specific methods of warfare, such as starvation and the prohibition against attacking, destroying, removing, or rendering useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population, such as drinking water installations and supplies and irrigation works. These protections are vital because even when such objects become military objectives, they shall not be attacked save for minor exceptions.  In situations of occupation, IHL imposes additional obligations on...

middle: Algeria (84), Argentina (93), Brazil (70), Paraguay (111), Peru (70), Iran (105), Libya (105), Syria (93). According to the press release by TI’s chair, Huguette Labelle, corruption is “rampant” in half of the countries of the world. He further argues that there is a strong correlation between corruption and poverty. “Corruption eats away at the economies of poor countries. The perception of endemic corruption scares off foreign investors and has a knock-on effect on economic growth. A corrupt government siphoning off a country’s great mineral wealth, for instance, is...

...of the 193 members of the United Nations to rail against the International Criminal Court (ICC), which he said has become a political tool to target African leaders. Boko Haram Islamist fighters killed at least two Niger soldiers and wounded four others in an attack on a village near the Nigerian border, army officers said on Friday. Middle East and Northern Africa At least 39 civilians, including eight children and eight women, have been killed in Russian air strikes in Syria in the past four days, the Syrian Observatory for...

Dioncounde Traore will be sworn in as Mali’s interim president today and is tasked with pulling the nation in turmoil back on the right track. Syria has said it will comply with its truce deadlines today by halting military activity, but reserves its right to combat terrorist attacks. Kofi Annan says that Iran can be part of Syria’s solution. In the wake of the Arab Spring, start-up social media and networking companies are thriving in the Middle East. Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu will propose direct talks with Palestinian Leader Mahmud Abbas...

[Jennifer Trahan is an Associate Clinical Professor at the NYU Center for Global Affairs.] I, too, would like to thank Opinio Juris for our mini-symposium and dialogue on the use of the veto in the face of atrocity crimes. I hope it stimulates further thought, analysis and work on these important issues. For those who missed the debates, I posted attacking the legality of Russia’s veto in the face of chemical weapons use in Syria, Dr. Mohamed Helal defended Russia’s veto use as consistent with the drafting of the UN...

...non-state armed groups in a diverse range of conflict situations, including the FARC (Colombia), Islamic State (Syria and Iraq), Taliban (Afghanistan), Tamil Tigers (Sri Lanka), PKK (Turkey), PYD (Syria), and KRG (Iraq), the book argues that it is possible for armed groups to legally establish and operate a system of courts to administer justice. In this online book launch, Professor René Provost will discuss with leading scholars in international humanitarian law (IHL) and international human rights law the legal and practical challenges related to the administration of justice by armed...

An inadvertent suggestion by John Kerry may have provided a solution to the international stalemate on Syria, as it led to a Russian proposal to bring chemical weapons under international control for destruction. The US is open but sceptical to the proposal, as are its allies. Syria’s foreign minister has welcomed the proposal, tacitly admitting in the process that the regime has chemical weapons. One year after its controversial purchase of the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands, a Japanese spokesperson said Japan may consider stationing government workers on the islands to defend its...