In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Author: Jessica Dorsey

12 Feb

North Korea carried out its third-ever successful nuclear test, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, among others, condemned the act as a violation of several Security Council resolutions. The Sudanese government signed a Qatar-sponsored ceasefire with a splinter Darfur rebel group, in an attempt to revive a stalled peace process to end a decade-long conflict. Rebels have captured Syria's biggest hydro-electric dam and...

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11 Feb

Syrian opposition leader Mouaz al-Khatib has said he is willing to hold talks with President Bashar al-Assad's representatives in rebel-held areas of northern Syria to try to end the conflict that has killed more than 60,000 people. The UN reports that up to 5,000 people are fleeing Syria per day. The British government intensified its campaign to stop Scotland from leaving the United Kingdom, publishing a...

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10 Feb

 Calls for Papers The 21st Annual Conference of the Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law (‘ANZSIL’) will take place from Thursday, 4 July 2013 to Saturday, 6 July 2013 at The Australian National University, Canberra with the theme of "Accountability and International Law" The conference will be hosted by the Centre for International and Public Law, ANU College of Law. The Conference Organizing Committee now invites...

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09 Feb

This week on Opinio Juris, Duncan started us off by discussing privileges and immunities for diplomats and posed the question of what the public should know in cases like DWIs. His next post offered a discussion of the Native American mutual defense treaty involving the Tar Sands Projects. Kevin weighed in this week on affairs at the ICC, including this post...

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08 Feb

Syrian troops are battling rebels around Damascus, trying to halt their advance on the capital. The ICC has demanded the extradition of Libya’s Abdullah al-Senussi to The Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity under Gaddafi’s regime. A UN survey has found that more than $3.9 billion was paid out in bribes in Afghanistan in 2012, amounting to more than double...

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07 Feb

France is seeking UN Peacekeepers for Mali amid the ongoing conflict. Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in order to discuss potential areas of cooperation in the future. The Canadian government is thinking about legislation that would revoke the citizenship of its dual nationals involved in acts of terrorism. Human Rights Watch has issued a report that alleges...

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06 Feb

A Chinese navy vessel aimed a type of radar normally used to aim weapons at a target at a Japanese navy ship in the East China Sea, prompting a Japanese protest.President Barack Obama has plans to visit Israel, the West Bank and Jordan this spring, raising the prospects of a new U.S. push to restart long-stalled Israel-Palestinian peace efforts.The British Parliament...

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05 Feb

The US Department of Justice’s White Paper justifying its drone strike and targeted killing program was leaked to NBC yesterday. The story is here, the white paper is here. Kevin Jon Heller already has early analysis pieces on OJ here and here. Although not yet formally approved, US military leaders have agreed to pre-emptive cyber strikes in the face of an imminent and large scale digital attack. Mike...

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04 Feb

Though he admits that evidence that came from enhanced interrogation techniques was used to find Osama Bin Laden, outgoing Secretary of Defense and former CIA chief who oversaw the Bin Laden operation, Leon Panetta, has said that Bin Laden could have been found without resorting to torture. The German Defense Ministry has confirmed Germany will acquire armed drones. The number three leader of...

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01 Feb

Syria protested to the UN about an Israeli air strike on its territory and warned of a possible "surprise" response. Two years later, Benghazi threatens “another revolution” in Libya. Iran is planning to speed up its research and work on developing nuclear fuel. Recent escalating violence in Darfur has caused more than 100,000 people to flee the area. British Prime Minister David Cameron has made...

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31 Jan

Israel has carried out air strikes close to the Syria-Lebanese border. Donors have pledged $1.5 million to aid civilians displaced by the conflict in Syria. British PM Cameron has visited Algeria to discuss responses to the threat of terrorism. French troops have captured the last Islamist stronghold in Mali. ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda warned the Malian government over reports of human rights abuses by Malian forces. The UN Human Rights Council...

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30 Jan

Special Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has appealed to the UN Security Council to take action on Syria which he said is "breaking up before everyone's eyes". Meanwhile, there are reports of a new massacre in Aleppo as more than 71 bodies were found by a river. Israel has boycotted the Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review of the rights situation in Israel, which has left the body with...

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