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Search: kony 2012

11 Jul

Ansar Dine, an al-Qaeda linked group, has destroyed more shrines at a mosque in Timbuktu, Mali, and vowed to continue destroying UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Foreign Policy discusses the issue further here and offers a slideshow of images of the wreckage here. Saudi Arabia has now made it official: it will not be sending female athletes to compete in this year’s Olympic Games in London. Human Rights Watch thinks that this reversal should lead to a ban on all participation of the nation. In other Olympics news,...
11.07.12 | |

11 Aug

It may be summer break in the US, but in Australia the academic year is in full swing with Kevin keeping the spotlight on Libya. First, he linked to his new essay on SSRN, entitled “The International Commission of Inquiry on Libya: A Critical Analysis.” Kevin also posted Saif Gaddafi’s unsigned statement about the fairness of his trial in Libya, discussed the OPCD’s response to Libya’s admissibility challenge and particularly the argument that Libya is unable to obtain custody of Saif. Kevin also questioned Libya’s integrity in its...
11.08.12 | |

04 Dec

The US has criticized Israel’s decision to expand settlements in the E1 area, following the UNGA’s decision to grant Palestine non-member state status. Five European countries (France, Denmark, Sweden, the UK and Spain) and the Australian government has also summoned the Israeli ambassador in protest. Despite the criticism, Israel plans to move ahead with the settlement construction. More analysis about the effect of the UNGA’s resolution on statehood of Palestine can be found at the Arms Control Blog. Following intelligence reports, President Obama and Secretary of State...
04.12.12 | |

16 Jul

The sudden announcement that North Korea’s military chief was relieved of his duties for health reasons has spurred rumors about a possible power struggle. Cambodia and Thailand have announced that they will redeploy some of the troops stationed at the Preah Vihar temple from Wednesday onwards, to comply with last year’s order of the ICJ. Maritime disputes between China and Japan and China and the Philippines continue. Foreign Policy points out that China was caught red-handed with a naval frigate that had run aground Friday. The highest...
16.07.12 | |

26 May

This week on Opinio Juris, we continued last week’s book discussion of Laura Dickinson’s Outsourcing War and Peace: Preserving Public Values in a World of Privatized Foreign Affairs, with Laura’s post on the role of organizational structure and institutional structure as a mechanism of accountability and constraint, and her response to Steve Vladeck and to the other commentators. In a guest post, David Sloss proposed a rule to resolve conduct-based immunity defenses in cases under the Alien Tort Statute and/or the Torture Victim Protection Act. Until he found...
26.05.12 | |

17 Oct

South Sudan’s Parliament has ratified a border and oil deal with Sudan, which includes a demilitarized zone between the two states. The EU has placed new sanctions on Iranian oil, gas and tanker companies, the effects of which Iran calls futile. In related news, A NYTimes article describes the impact of European sanctions on Iran’s ability to keep the money printing presses going. Invoking humanitarian reasons, the UK government has blocked the extradition of Gary McKinnon to the United States where he is wanted for hacking into...
17.10.12 | |

08 Aug

Oxfam reports that hundreds are being raped and killed in Eastern Congo as the army’s deployment to fight rebels has created a security vacuum. The International Criminal Court announced its decision on providing reparations to victims in the case of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo. IntLawGrrls offers two posts (here and here) with commentary about the decision. Foreign Policy offers more insight into the Chinese fishermen captured by Sri Lanka. Uganda’s air force has been deployed to pursue al-Qaeda linked militants in Somalia. Now a total of eight Olympic...
08.08.12 | |

04 Oct

Turkey has struck back at Syria, after a mortar attack killed five Turkish civilians in a city close to the Syrian border. In an urgent meeting, NATO has urged Syria to respect international law. Turkey has also requested a response by the UN Security Council, but Russia asked for a day delay. Four UN Peacekeepers were killed in an ambush in West Darfur. At their next meeting in mid-October, Europe’s Foreign Affairs Ministers will reportedly consider tighter sanctions on Iran, including stricter limits on Iranian Central Bank...
04.10.12 | |

16 Apr

Former Argentine dictator Jorge Rafael Videla has admitted for the first time that the country’s brutal 1976-1983 dictatorship “disappeared” leftist opponents and said babies were kidnapped from their parents. A team of six UN observers has gone to Syria, where despite both sides agreeing to a truce, violence is still raging. South Sudan has accused Sudan of indiscriminate bombing in a dispute over who controls Heglig, an oil-rich town on the disputed border between the two countries. Sudan denies any involvement. Egypt is pushing for an end...
16.04.12 | |

27 Apr

ECOWAS will dispatch troops to both Mali and Guinea-Bissau in order to swiftly reinstate civilian rule after recent coups. In a Reuters exclusive, the US Senate, after a three-year investigation, is expected to find that the “enhanced interrogation techniques” used failed to yield counterterrorism breakthroughs. As a result of ongoing clashes between Sudan and South Sudan, the United States has circulated a draft resolution through the UN Security Council outlining sanctions if the two nations do not cease their strikes and resolve their many disputes. The US...
27.04.12 | |

10 Jul

The International Criminal Court handed down the sentence for Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, who received 14 years’ imprisonment for conscripting, enlisting and using children under the age of 15 to participate actively in hostilities. The time since March 16, 2006 that he has spent in detention will be deducted from his sentence. Judge Odio Benito wrote a separate and dissenting decision as in her view, the majority decision disregards the damage to victims and their families, especially with regard to sexual violence-related crimes not focused upon in the...
10.07.12 | |

21 Nov

US Secretary of State Clinton has arrived in Israel to assist in the negotiation of a truce with Hamas. The UK has recognized the Syrian opposition coalition, but the US has adopted a wait-and-see approach. Polish authorities have arrested two men allegedly planning to bomb Parliament. Shortly before the fourth anniversary of the Mumbai attacks, India has executed the only militant surviving the attacks. The UN Security Council has condemned the rebels’ seizure of Goma in Eastern Congo. Al-Unood al-Senussi, a daughter of Libya’s former spy chief...
21.11.12 | |