Recent Posts

[Ozan Yildirim works as an Expert Associate in the Humanitarian Affairs Section of the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the UN in Geneva and holds an LL.M. in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights from the Geneva Academy] This post is written in the author's personal capacity. When it comes to the disappearance of individuals, non-State actors around the world are increasingly...

[Lukas Willmer is a PhD candidate at Humboldt University Berlin, with a research focus on governmental status and recognition in international law] In September 2024, Australia, Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands announced their intention to initiate proceedings before the ICJ against Afghanistan for violations of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The four states...

As I write these lines, the United States is fighting for the very soul of its democracy. Under dispute is whether their government can forcibly transfer a lawful resident – in this case a Latino with a tattoo – to a forced labour camp in El Salvador without any due process. For now, the US Supreme Court’s answer seems to be “no”, provided the...

[Anuja Jaiswal is a human rights consultant who has worked in various contexts, including Gambia, Ukraine, MENA, Myanmar, and North Korea. She studied at the University of Oxford and Columbia University, and has an LL.M in Transnational Crime and Justice.] Generally, there is an absence of adequate gender representation on the international bench. This gap has been identified by academics and...

[Ben Saul is the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism] The Israeli human rights NGOs Public Committee Against Torture in Israel and Hamoked recently reported that around 6,800 Palestinians are detained by Israel outside the regular criminal justice process. Approximately 3,436 are held as “unlawful combatants” captured in Gaza – although...

On April 4, a group of five states -- Costa Rica, Germany, Sierra Leone, Slovenia and Vanuatu -- formally submitted to the UN Secretary-General the text of a proposed amendment to the Rome Statute. The amendment seeks to harmonise the ICC's jurisdiction over the crime of aggression with the jurisdictional regime that applies to the other crimes. It would do...

[Mona Rishmawi is an international human rights lawyer and a former senior UN official. She worked in several conflict contexts including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Libya, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Sri Lanka, Sudan, and Syria.] This post is written in the author's personal capacity. Israel has resumed pounding Gaza. Civilian casualties are mounting, and humanitarian assistance once again is weaponized....

[Azadah Raz Mohammad is a legal advisor for the End Gender Apartheid Campaign and a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne. She is the co-author of the Handbook on Universal Jurisdiction: Holding the Taliban Accountable for International Crimes. Akila Radhakrishnan is an independent human rights lawyer and gender justice expert. She is a legal advisor for the End Gender Apartheid Campaign.] Part I of this post...

[Azadah Raz Mohammad is a legal advisor for the End Gender Apartheid Campaign and a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne. She is the co-author of the Handbook on Universal Jurisdiction: Holding the Taliban Accountable for International Crimes. Akila Radhakrishnan is an independent human rights lawyer and gender justice expert. She is a legal advisor for the End Gender Apartheid Campaign.] On March 8,...

[Maya Nirula is a dual-qualified international human rights lawyer with multi-jurisdictional experience consulting and litigating on issues of business and human rights] Recapitulation  This is the second of a two-part series, the Role of Business in War. Part I: The Old Offense evaluated the interaction between International Humanitarian Law (IHL), International Human Rights Law (IHRL), and International Criminal law (ICL) in governing gross...

[Maya Nirula is a dual-qualified international human rights lawyer with multi-jurisdictional experience consulting and litigating on issues of business and human rights] Introduction  This is the first of a two-part series, the Role of Business in War. Part I: The Old Offense will evaluate the interaction between International Humanitarian Law (IHL), International Human Rights Law (IHRL), and International Criminal law (ICL) in governing...

To have your event or announcement featured in next week’s post, please send a link and a brief description (1-2 paragraphs) to ojeventsandannouncements@gmail.com. Calls for Applications Research Prize of the International Nuremberg Principles Academy to Participate in the Adamas Residencies 2025: The Adamas Residencies are a European residency programme for legal researchers at the Château de Goutelas in Marcoux, France. From 5...