In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Author: Kevin Jon Heller

18 Oct

That's the situation with the Sudanese government's latest contribution to the "peace" process: The United States, Darfuri rebels and Sudanese opposition parties have greeted a new initiative to solve the Darfur crisis with scepticism and boycotts, while Khartoum, the Arab League and the UN say it’s the region’s best hope. Widespread doubts about the credibility of the process prevail ahead of deliberations...

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13 Oct

That's the headline of today's New York Times article about Ali Kushayb, the janjaweed militia leader who has been indicted by the ICC.  According to the article, the "[t]he move is widely being interpreted as a way for Sudan to improve its image abroad and attempt to head off the possible genocide prosecution of the country’s president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir." Honestly,...

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11 Oct

Ladies and gentlemen, your peacemaker: Al-Bashir who rarely gives interviews told the British Channel 4 News from Khartoum that rape claims are made up by Darfuri women. “The women inside the camps are under the influence of the rebels and some are even relatives of the rebels. That’s why they make these claims” Al-Bashir said. “We are fully convinced that no rape took...

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09 Oct

Serbia might want the ICJ to opine on the legality of Kosovo's independence, but it seems that the horse is already out of the barn.  Even Macedonia and Montenegro have now recognized Kosovo, the latter particularly irking the Serbian government: Montenegro's announcement sparked outrage in Belgrade, which along with key ally Russia has been vehemently opposing the split. Serbia in a...

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08 Oct

What is it with international prosecutors and their duty to disclose exculpatory evidence?  First the ICC stays the Lubanga trial because of the Prosecutor's abuse of Article 54.  And now the ICTR has had to formally reprimand its Prosecutor, Hassan Jallow, for failing to disclose exculpatory evidence in the high-profile Military II trial: In their ruling dated September 22, 2008, the...

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07 Oct

Last month, I mentioned that a BBC survey found nearly global support for Obama over McCain.  Now check out this "global electoral college" map put together by the editors of The Economist, Sarah Palin's favorite magazine: [caption id="attachment_4918" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption=""][/caption] The lonely red country is, not suprisingly, Georgia.  And the only pink country appears to be Macedonia. Hat-Tip: FP Passport....

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06 Oct

It's about time: The American Psychological Association has notified President Bush of a significant change in the association’s policy that limits the roles of psychologists in certain unlawful detention settings where the human rights of detainees are violated. The new policy is in response to actions that have occurred at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and at so-called CIA...

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06 Oct

It's official.  President Bush has signed the Child Soldiers Accountability Act: The Child Soldiers Accountability Act makes it a federal crime to recruit knowingly or to use soldiers under the age of 15 and permits the United States to prosecute any individual on US soil for the offense, even if the children were recruited or served as soldiers outside the United...

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29 Sep

Who would have thought that the US would emerge as the most committed supporter of the ICC in Darfur? From the "Hague Invasion Act" to protecting the Court from the spinelessness of its erstwhile supporters, the UK and France: "If asked—if forced to vote today—the United States, even if it was 191 countries against one, would veto an Article 16 [resolution],"...

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