[Tara Van Ho is a Lecturer at the School of Law at the University of Essex. This is the second part of a two-part post. The first can be found here.] In the first part, I explained why Trump and Rouhani’s tweets during the Iranian-US crisis constitutes propaganda for war. In this part, I will explain that Twitter has a human rights responsibility to...
[Tara Van Ho is a Lecturer at the School of Law at the University of Essex.] In the days following the assassination of Qassim Soleimani, US President Donald Trump took to Twitter to not only justify the killing but to threaten war if Iran retaliated for what most experts in international law believe was likely an unlawful killing that also violated...
On Monday, a group of Nobel Peace laureates issued a remarkable public statement not only condemning Aung San Suu Kyi for actively denying that Myanmar has committed international crimes against the Rohingya, but also calling for her to be prosecuted for those crimes herself: As Nobel Peace laureates, we call on Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, to...
On Friday, the Assembly of States Parties unanimously adopted a Swiss proposal to extend the war crime of starvation to non-international armed conflict (NIAC). Previously, for reasons that seem to be largely accidental, the war crime only applied in international armed conflict (IAC). The new war crime is, of course, a welcome development. There is no justification for ever using starvation...
[Alexandra Lily Kather, is a Legal Advisor, International Crimes and Accountability Program, European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR). Silvia Rojas Castro is a ECCHR Critical Legal Trainee, International Crimes and Accountability Program, and Vandita Khanna is ECCHR Critical Legal Training Alumn*, International Crimes and Accountability Program.] 75 years after the Malaya Lolas (“Free Grandmothers”) were sexually enslaved by the...
"It is of utmost importance to the victims' families, as a matter of record, history, justice, and closure that the full truth be revealed and discovered." ---Mohamed Chande Othman On Monday the 7th of October the UN published its report, compiled by former Chief Justice of Tanzania, Mohamed Chande Othman, on the investigation into the mysterious circumstances resulting in tragic...
[Ralph Janik teaches international law at the University of Vienna, Webster University Vienna, and the University of Rostock. He specializes in the interplay of international law and international relations. Twitter: @RalphJanik] A couple of days ago the research services of Germany’s parliament (the Bundestag) published an expert opinion on the legal aspects of Turkey’s Syria invasion. Its principal findings are clear: “Operation Peace Spring”...
In this final contribution to the symposium, I will discuss compensation practices by national militaries and their link to accountability. It is perhaps not surprising that creative remedial responses to claims by individuals and other third parties against IOs have not emerged in the context of mass torts. The stakes are high, and there is a tendency to reign in precedent-setting gestures of good will. ...
[August Reinisch is Professor of International and European Law at the University of Vienna and Member of the International Law Commission. Clemens Treichl is an associate in the international arbitration group at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP. The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP or any of its affiliates.] On February 27,...
[Carla Ferstman is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Essex School of Law. She has worked in the human rights field for 25 years, with NGOs, intergovernmental organisations and in private practice.] Where do individuals who suffer harm as a result of the negligence or malfeasance of the UN go to seek redress? Sadly, there is nowhere for them to go. Maybe I...
[Kristina Daugirdas is a Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School.] Absent a contractual relationship, individuals who have been harmed by the acts of international organizations rarely have access to institutions to hear their claims. National courts are often unavailable on account of organizations’ immunities. Some organizations have established alternative mechanisms to resolve such claims. The World Bank Inspection...
In 2017, Seton Hall Law School hosted a symposium on UN Accountability. Two years ago, the conversation was largely about the Haiti cholera case against the UN , and other mass torts. A video of the event, including a powerful Keynote Speech by Philip Alston is available here. After the event, Prof. Fréderic Mégret and I, and a number of other speakers, decided to further...