Search: kony 2012

15 May Weekday News Wrap: Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Based on a study released yesterday from the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), overconsumption is threatening the earth’s resources and the health of the planet. The full report is here and more from WWF about the report is here. The Prosecutor of the ICC has sought new warrants in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as well as filed new charges against Bosco Ntaganda, already wanted by the Court (ICC statement). In other news of the DRC, the UN reports that villagers in the Bunyiakiri district of...

27 Dec Weekday News Wrap: Thursday, December 27, 2012

The Commander of Syria’s Military Policy has announced his defection from the regime over YouTube. Meanwhile, Special Envoy Brahimi will travel to Russia on Saturday for talks on the situation in Syria, after Syrian representatives had discussions at the Russian Foreign Ministry earlier today. Russia’s Upper House has unanimously approved the ban on adoptions to the US, in retaliation for the US Magnitsky Act. Russia’s president Vladimir Putin is set to sign the bill into law. Reuters details how this move will make children the victims. With...

25 Aug Weekend Roundup: August 11-24, 2012

With the start of the US academic year just around the corner, activity picked up here at Opinio Juris this week. There certainly wasn’t a shortage of international law items to discuss… First, there is of course the diplomatic spat between the UK and Ecuador over Julian Assange’s extradition to Sweden. Once Kevin was done banging his head on the table after yet another news article confusing the ICJ and the ICC, he reposted Mark Klamberg’s discussion on the likelihood of Assange’s extradition from Sweden to the US....

06 Jun Weekday News Wrap: Wednesday, June 6, 2012

More news in targeted strikes, complementing our book symposium this week: US officials claim that Abu Yahyi al-Libi, a high-level al-Qaeda militant, was killed in a CIA drone strike in northern Pakistan yesterday, despite Pakistan’s urging the US to stop the targeted killing program. A strike in Afghanistan aimed at a top-level official killed him as well as six Taliban fighters nearby but also killed 16 others, including women and children. The Guardian reports on warnings by a former CIA counter-terrorism official that the US drone attacks...

19 Apr Weekday News Wrap: Thursday, April 19, 2012

UN is examining claims that China broke sanctions against North Korea. South Sudan has become the International Monetary Fund’s 188th member. Sudan has threatened war against South Sudan. Spain wants the EU to file a World Trade Organization (WTO) complaint against Argentina for nationalizing 51% of Spain’s Repsol’s stake in oil company YPF. The US has condemned the nationalization. Colombia has sent a letter to the WTO complaining about Argentina’s import restrictions. The ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo is in Libya to investigate war crimes. The UK is...

03 Aug Weekday News Wrap: Friday, August 3, 2012

Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has quit as Syria’s peace envoy after becoming frustrated with “finger-pointing” at the UN while the battle in Syria rages on. IPS offers more context here. China has expressed its regret. Meanwhile, a UN resolution on Syria goes to the General Assembly today, criticizing the Security Council for failing to take action and denouncing the use of force on civilians by the Syrian government. The UN Security Council did, however, demand and end to foreign support of rebels in the Democratic...

22 Dec Weekend Roundup: December 15-21. 2012

This week on Opinio Juris, Kristen Boon followed up on her discussion last week about changes towards more transparency and fairness in the UN’s Al Qaida sanctions regime. Craig Allen contributed a guest post on the ITLOS’ interim order for the release by Ghana of Argentina’s ARA Libertad. UNCLOS was also central to Duncan Hollis’ post on China’s submission to the Continental Shelf Commission in relation to the dispute regarding the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands. Peggy McGuinness congratulated Diane Amann, Leila Sadat and Patricia Sellers on their appointments as special...

04 May Weekday News Wrap: Friday, May 4, 2012

Prosecutors are seeking an 80-year sentence for Charles Taylor. The sentencing will take place on May 30th. The US solar industry is pushing the government to bring a WTO complaint against India’s local content requirements in the production of solar panels. Despite recent nationalizations in Bolivia and Argentina, the IMF has declined to call it a trend. Speaking in Beijing, American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that the US is willing to work with North Korea if it reforms. China has said that dissident Chen...

04 Aug Weekend Roundup: July 28 – August 3, 2012

This week on Opinio Juris we provided a forum to two guest posters, Gabor Rona and Michael W. Lewis, who continued their earlier conversation on targeted killing over at Lawfare. In his first post, Gabor asked whether the politicians and military leaders in charge of defining the criteria for targetability will take a more liberal attitude because their own risk is zero and argued that the concept of ‘co-belligerency’ cannot as easily be transposed from an international armed conflict to a non-international armed conflict. Michael Lewis disagreed that...

24 Oct Weekday News Wrap: Wednesday, October 24, 2012

More than 50 rockets have been fired from the Gaza strip into South Israel,an Israeli officer was wounded in the exchange of fire, and one Palestinian was killed when Israel launched rockets back into Gaza. Senior Japanese and Chinese diplomats met last week to discuss the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands. The US is finding itself at both ends of two new WTO disputes after the WTO Dispute Settlement Body established a panel to review Chinese anti-dumping and countervailing duties on cars from the US, and another to examine whether...

10 Nov Weekend Roundup: November 3 – 9, 2012

With the US elections dominating the headlines this week, Peter Spiro argued that the impact of the US president on populations who are unable to vote in the election, and are not even allowed to make campaign contributions, reveals another limit of state-based institutions. Deborah Pearlstein asked whether President Obama’s promise that a “decade of war is ending” includes the “war” against al-Qaeda, and started thinking about the law and policy implications as the US shifts from the war paradigm to a counter-terrorism framework. Two posts dealt with...

21 Dec Weekday News Wrap: Friday, December 21, 2012

The ICTR issued its final decision yesterday, sentencing former Rwandan minister Augustin Ngirabatware to 35 years in prison. An Argentine court sentenced former Interior Minister Jaime Smart to life in prison for crimes against humanity during the nation’s 1976-1983 “Dirty War.” The UN sees no prospect of an end to the violence in Syria, according to Ban Ki-Moon, and urges unity from the Security Council. The Security Council unanimously approved a two-track intervention into Mali. Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks, has said that the door is open...