Search: unwilling or unable
28 Apr Beyond Containment – Confronting Racial Hierarchies in International Law: The Past and Present of the Refugee Regime – Portending a Problematic Future?
...of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country. Universality appeared to be on the table. Article 1B clarified that states could choose whether “events occurring before 1 January 1951” would mean in a) Europe or b) Europe and elsewhere (Europe was still at the centre). However, even those states favouring the more expansive definition did so because they felt...
14 Nov Symposium: How “New” Are the Current Challenges to International Law?
...diagnosis would be that they have been rather common throughout history and over the last decades. Even many of the disputes over the content of specific rules are in fact very much that: “challenges to the underpinnings of international law”. Jutta Brunnée herself, together with Stephen Toope, has recently made this point in an article dealing with the so called “unable or unwilling standard” that some states put forward to shape an extensive reading of self-defence. It is also true for attempts to establish a right to pre-emptive self-defence. Both...
19 Aug To Recognize or Not to Recognize – is That Really the Question? On State Recognition Amid Genocide
...General Assembly has recognized the State of Palestine, this has done very little to advance the Palestinian right to self-determination – in terms of actually having sovereignty over their territory and the ability to effectively determine their political future – and end the occupation, precisely because the States with the most power are unwilling to do anything meaningful. Settlements have continued to expand and a genocide has been underway since October of 2023. While recognition is important, it should not be used as a substitute for accountability and State responsibility....26 Apr The Sudden Attraction of Drones in Libya
...‘coalition of the heroically altruistic willing’ becomes the ‘coalition of free riders and defectors and shirkers’, unwilling to take casualties. In that case (which is every case of altruistic war), drones are suddenly a great weapon. Yet not only are they no safer than they were before, they are actually a marginally less safe weapon in Libya if only because the intelligence picture upon which they depend is not as complete. Drones are the preferred weapon for humanitarian intervention because they accommodate the limited risks that the global altruists are...19 Jan The President and the Interpretation of International Law– A Reply to Ku
...seeking to legitimize from a legal point of view. If the Administration is unwilling to acknowledge its behavior and justify its actions publicly and forthrightly, then the President is not genuinely seeking to change the law. He is just flouting it. But returning to Julian’s main claim, it would seem that the most plausible basis for his view which he doesn’t really seek to justify only to suggest builds from the substantial role that the President actually and inevitably plays in the development of customary international law principles. If the...
04 Sep Transgender, Third Gender, No Gender: Rights Perspectives on Laws Assigning Gender, Part I
...unwilling to issue the passport. The appeals court for the 10th Circuit found that three of the five reasons were “arbitrary and capricious.” It reversed the lower court’s ruling, though, and ordered the department to reevaluate Zzymm’s case based on the other two justifications. The ruling is a setback but offers hope that Zzymm will one day receive a passport matching their identity – something that most people take for granted. Intersex people, like Zzymm, make up about 1.7 percent of the population. They are born with chromosomes, gonads, sex...
06 Jan The United States’ Attack Against Venezuela: Might Does Not Make Right
...its own nationals, where the territorial state is unable or unwilling to guarantee their safety, and where the intervening state uses force only to effectuate measures strictly necessary for its nationals’ rescue. Some scholars have referred to this as an unwritten rule of customary law. However, this type of use of force remains limited and used only sporadically to respond to particular emergency situations where rescue of a state’s nationals is necessary. Regarding the latter, humanitarian intervention, it is important to note that the majority of scholars (see e.g. here)...
28 Sep Symposium on the Current Crisis in Myanmar: Post-coup Violations Should be Investigated as Crimes against Humanity
...and practice supports the conclusion that Myanmar’s post-coup violations should be investigated as crimes against humanity. However, to date, Myanmar has been unable and unwilling to conduct investigations and prosecutions that meet international law and standards. Consequently, accountability should continue to be pursued at the international level or in front of other States. While the Human Right’s Council’s creation of the IIMM – which already indicated it is actively collecting evidence in relation to violations committed in the context of the coup – is a positive step, the IIMM is...
05 Oct Why Did the UN Human Rights Committee Refuse Broader Protections for Climate Change Victims?
...Despite General Comment 36’s clear language and the Billy authors’ equally clear evidence of serious loss of primary food sources, increase in water temperatures, and damage to the authors’ homes, the majority declined to find a violation of the right to life (Views, paras 2.3-2.6 and 8.3). Why was the HRC unwilling in Billy to draw the connections between climate change and right to life it told us exist in General Comment 36, leaving the value of general comments in question. In contrast, the separate opinion of Arif Bulkan, Marcia...