In association with the International Commission of Jurists

International Human Rights Law

04 Nov

The New York Times ran a front page story from its lead Guantanamo reporter yesterday.   (William Glaberson and Margot Williams, research assistance Andrei Scheinkman, "Next President Will Face Test on Detainees: Some at Guantanamo Called Serious Risks," NYT, Monday, November 3, 2008 (behind reg. user wall), A1; plus a referenced data base of detainees used to analyze the detainee...

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04 Nov

I’m with Chris – hard to focus today on anything other than the presidential election. (Indeed, I’m at pains to tear my eyes away from Ben Smith’s blog over at Politico, which is keeping anecdotal tabs on voter turnout here in the United States. His latest post as of 11:57am EST: “The Obama aide who told me last night that...

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03 Nov

This according to the Sudan Tribune: A senior Chinese official suggested that his country has no plans to introduce a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution suspending the indictment by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir. China’s special envoy to Africa Liu Guijin told the pro-government daily Al-Rayaam in a rare interview that he toured Washington, Paris and London...

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02 Nov

Interested in how popular culture constructs narratives about torture?  Fascinated by the ticking time-bomb scenario? Like Battlestar Galactica and/or 24?  Then do I have an essay for you, written by my friend and colleague John Ip: This article is about two different narratives or accounts of torture. Each narrative signifies a certain view about the legality and wisdom of employing torture...

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01 Nov

As part of its ongoing efforts to educate Americans about the national shame that is Guantanamo Bay, Amnesty International is touring the country with a replica of David Hicks' cell: AIUSA’s prison cell replica includes a steel toilet, florescent lights and a sliding metal door. In addition, visitors may record a 30-second reaction video that will be posted on youtube.com and...

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31 Oct

As I predicted a few weeks ago, Judge Allred has refused to reconsider Hamdan's sentence in light of the Bush administration's argument that he was not entitled to credit for the time he served as an enemy combatant: A military judge has refused to reconsider the sentence of Osama bin Laden's former driver, forcing the Bush administration to either release a...

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28 Oct

While the Bush Administration may have reconciled itself to leaving office with the detention center at Guantanamo Bay still up and running, the U.S. federal courts continue pushing the detainees’ cases ahead toward resolution. After briefing by the parties on their competing definitions of “enemy combatant,” U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon yesterday announced a ruling: Enemy combatant’ shall mean an...

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28 Oct

With all the attention being paid to the pending genocide charges against Bashir, the media has largely ignored Moreno-Ocampo's recent announcement that he intends to seek an arrest warrant against rebel commanders in Darfur who are believed to be responsible for a vicious attack on AU peacekeepers in 2007: "In a couple of weeks I will present my third case against...

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28 Oct

 The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Community Court of Justice has found that the West African state of Niger has violated its obligations to protect its citizens for slavery.  Specifically, Niger failed to prevent  Hadijatou Mani, who was sold into slavery at the age of 12 in 1996 for about £300 and regularly beaten and sexually abused.  The Court...

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24 Oct

Last week the ICJ issued an order for provisional measures  (pdf is here) in the Case Concerning Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Georgia v. Russian Federation) . This case, along with the recent referral to the ICJ for an advisory opinion on the status of Kosovo, are the latest cases arising out of...

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