Search: kony 2012
23 Aug Guest Post: Do drones cause fewer civilian casualties than traditional combat?
...and 2012 battles with Hamas in Gaza, the 1999 Russian war with Chechen rebels, and the final stages of the struggle between Sri Lanka and the LTTE (Tamil Tigers) all killed more civilians than combatants, in some cases substantially more. Although the U.S. has not caused civilian casualties at rates that high, there have been memorable examples of civilian casualties in each of the recent conflicts in which we have been involved, and those casualties were caused by all kinds of weapons systems. The 1991 Gulf War had the Al-Firdos...09 Jul Managing Intractable Conflicts: Lessons from Moldova and Cyprus
...I contributed a chapter focusing on Moldova. (Long-time readers of this blog may have read my analyses–such as this post–concerning the Transnistrian conflict.) In preparation of the report, we met in June 2012 in Istanbul and in Northern Cyprus with policy experts and representatives of various parties. In September 2012 we reconvened and had meetings and interviews in Chisinau (Moldova’s capital) and in Transnistria. The final report, Managing Intractable Conflicts: Lessons from Moldova and Cyprus, was recently published by GPoT and is available as a .pdf via this link. ...
27 Jun The Role of Gender Persecution in the Al Hassan Judgment
...by virtue of his key role in the Islamic Police and his involvement in Ansar Dine/AQIM’s imposition and promotion of the rules and measures and in the system of surveillance and punishment, including in multiple instances of violent and public punishments, Mr Al Hassan meaningfully contributed to Ansar Dine/AQIM’s campaign targeting the civilian population on religious and gender grounds. As such, the Majority is satisfied that Mr Al Hassan’s conduct contributed to the commission of the crime of persecution by members of Ansar Dine/AQIM in Timbuktu in 2012-2013. 1735. Regarding...06 May The Transformation of the Permanent Court of Arbitration
The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) recently released its 2012 annual report, which documents its remarkable institutional transformation. Established in 1899, the PCA is an intergovernmental organization based in the Peace Palace in The Hague. Although it has a long and interesting history, including housing the Iran – U.S. Claims Tribunal for a number of years, over the last 12 years the PCA has seen its workload and subject matter scope increase exponentially. As Secretary General of the PCA, Hugo Siblesz, noted in a speech in February: “As of this...16 Nov MJIL Symposium: A Response to Mary Crock and Susan Kneebone by Michelle Foster
...asylum seekers from Australia to Nauru given that the Australian government is determined to maintain the position that once transferred, asylum seekers will be the responsibility of Nauru alone. This position has been said by both the Australian and Nauruan governments to be supported by the recent passage of the Refugees Convention Act 2012 (Nauru)- an Act that for the first time in Nauruan law establishes a system of refugee status determination, including merits and judicial review. Notwithstanding this, there is reason to believe, as does Crock, that ‘the entire...15 Dec Congress Authorizes U.S. Offensive CyberAttacks
Ah, the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act… has any defense spending bill had so much defense-related legal policy embedded in it? In addition to all the very important stuff about military detentions, it turns out the NDAA also authorizes the U.S. military to engage in offensive cyber-attacks (h/t Gary Schmitt). Congress affirms that the Department of Defense has the capability, and upon direction by the President may conduct offensive operations in cyberspace to defend our Nation, allies and interests. The act further clarifies that such actions should be subject to...
22 Sep Symposium on Protest and Legal Mobilization: Right to Protest in a Post-Apartheid South Africa – The Case of Mining-affected Communities
...members of the South African Police Services (SAPS) during a protest on live TV. The Marikana massacre that happened on 16 August 2012 was preceded by a six-day mining worker’s protest, primarily over wage disputes between the workers and mining company Lonmin Platinum Mine in Marikana, Northwest Province, South Africa. The protest, monitored by armed members of SAPS who fired and shot miners, some using live ammunition to disperse the crowds and end the protest. The massacre was a historical and unprecedented incident as it contributed towards significant changes on...23 Feb Is Libya “Willing” to Prosecute Saif?
...conduct in proceedings before the ICC. The OPCD has been unable to identify any provision of the Rome Statute in support of that contention, which is erroneous. Libya has made no secret of the fact that its national proceedings are broader in scope than those before the Court…. Since the filing of the 1 May 2012 Admissibility Challenge, entirely separate criminal proceedings have also been brought against Mr Gaddafi arising from alleged breaches of national security taking place during the June 2012 visit of OPCD counsel to Zintan. Second, echoing...16 Jan Sanctions On the Upswing by Regional Bodies in Africa
...African organizations are typically short lived. For example, ECOWAS applied sanctions against Mali’s leaders in April 2012, and lifted them a few months later, in August 2012. Relatedly, regional organizations have been much quicker to threaten sanctions in deteriorating political situations, and use them as a tool to keep the dialogue going in times of instability. Although the track record is too short to indicate definite trends, it appears that sanctions by regional bodies have been more nimble and responsive to situations on the ground. Nonetheless, regional organizations have encountered...25 May Guest Post: Five Questions on the Colombian Sentencing Practice and the Principle of Complementarity under the Rome Statue
...in its 2012 report on Colombia that some paramilitaries may benefit from the sentences of 5 to 8 years imprisonment if convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes provided they demobilize. The matter is further complicated by the ICC’s capacity to frustrate the ongoing peace negotiations between the government and the FARC guerrillas. These talks aim at ending a conflict disrupting the country for over fifty years. The issue of sentencing in Colombia illustrates the difficulties the Court faces in applying the principle of complementarity in practice. What are...