Human Rights Law Commons^™

Human Rights Obligations, Armed Conflict, And Afghanistan: Looking Back Before Looking Ahead, Stephen Pomper

International Law Studies

No abstract provided.

Protest, Iranian Style: A Two-Way Conversation?, Shareen Hertel

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Darrell West gets it right when he argues that despite their promise, digital technologies alone “cannot produce revolutions. To generate fundamental change, it still takes strong leadership, powerful ideas, and people willing to risk detention and imprisonment.” West is writing about Iran—and the critical role that social networking has played in fostering social protest in the wake of a disputed election in that country. He also warns that oppressive regimes may turn the very same tool of protest against those fighting for freedom, by using digital technology to track protesters. Yet West underplays the importance of social networking for cracking …

Is Human Rights Law Of Any Relevance To Military Operations In Afghanistan?, Francoise J. Hampson

International Law Studies

No abstract provided.

The International Legal Framework For Stability Operations: When May International Forces Attack Or Detain Someone In Afghanistan?, Marco Sassoli

International Law Studies

No abstract provided.

The Responsibility To Protect: Three Pillars And Four Crimes, Heraldo Muñoz

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The adoption of the concept of “Responsibility to Protect” (RtoP) by the Heads of State and Government in the September 2005 United Nations World Summit was a historic landmark which has generated great attention as a potentially powerful instrument to impede humanitarian tragedies. Yet much has been missing, or misinterpreted, in the public discussion of this emerging norm. Some fear that RtoP could be abused by powerful countries to intervene in developing nations alleging altruistic motives, while others believe that RtoP is already a rule of customary international law that should be applied unconditionally and without delay in the face …

Twitter And Youtube: Positive Developments For Human Rights Protection?, Nicola Colbran

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A number of statements have been made regarding the benefit to human rights protection of advances in technology. However, can these advances also have a negative impact?

Focusing on instant messaging and social network services such as Twitter and YouTube, the positives are quickly apparent. They can draw immediate attention to human rights violations that may otherwise go unnoticed, allow interested parties to stay abreast of developments in the protection of human rights, and create strength and courage in numbers for action that may not be anticipated by the perpetrator. These services also enable human rights activists to tweet their …

Stop The Revolution, Michael Jackson Is Dead!, William Paul Simmons

Human Rights & Human Welfare

We won’t soon forget the rapid fire pace of “tweets” and Facebook posts direct from the streets of Tehran. The haunting images of Neda Agha Soltan shocked the consciences of hundreds of thousands around the globe as it went “viral.”

Justice After War: Sri Lanka And The Rights And Duties Of A Vanquisher, William Paul Simmons

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Human rights scholars, attorneys, and activists will deservedly focus on the human rights abuses committed by the Sri Lankan military as the decades - long civil war against the Tamil Tigers came to a crushing end this past spring. The military’s brutality, especially its failure to discriminate combatants from non-combatants, should be investigated by both domestic and transnational institutions. It remains to be seen whether such wanton disregard for civilian collateral damage will become the norm for regimes embroiled in civil wars and present yet another realpolitik threat to humanitarian law, or will Sri Lanka and other regimes face accountability …

July Roundtable: Introduction

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

What Next for Sri Lanka's 2.5 Million Tamils? by Amantha Perera. Time. May 26, 2009.

and

How to Defeat Insurgencies: Sri Lanka's Bad Example by Bobby Ghosh. Time, May 20, 2009.

The War Goes On - No Reconciliation At This Stage, Anja Mihr

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The victorious Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaska has been quite bold to pass a reconciliation note after he declared the thirty year war over. Can he be taken seriously?

Moving In The Open Daylight, Nicola Colbran

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The road ahead for Sri Lanka is certainly not easy. Although the government has declared that the LTTE ( Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) has been defeated, this “victory” has come at a high cost for civilian lives and democratic values. Decades of instability and violence have given rise to deep rooted and sustained human rights violations. Thousands of Sri Lankans have been displaced, killed or wounded, and are malnourished and traumatized after months of extended fighting between the two sides.

Fighting For Human Rights: The Application Of Human Rights Treaties To United States' Military Operations, Patrick Walsh

Penn State International Law Review

No abstract provided.

International Criminal Justice Must Not Only Be Done, It Must Be Seen To Be Done, Rhona Smith

Human Rights & Human Welfare

“[U]ntil a time in which the global governance structure is not reliant on states, humanity will continue to fail in its attempt to protect global human rights” (Eric Leonard, June 2008 Roundtable). Discourse across a range of disciplines (e.g. Roundtable comments by Landman in October 2008, and Thomson-Jensen and co-panelists in May 2007), irrespective of the methods of evaluation, conclude that the existing system of “human rights protection” fails those whose rights are heinously violated: millions die annually as a direct result of violations of basic human rights (food, clean water, adequate health); gross and systematic violations of human rights …

May Roundtable: Introduction

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“Case Closed: A Prosecutor Without Borders” by Julie Flint and Alex de Waal. World Affairs. Spring 2009.

Adjudication For The Adjudicators?, Rebecca Otis

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Coming from the perspective of one who roundly agrees with Kofi Annan that the creation of the International Criminal Court was “a gift of hope to future generations, and a giant step forward in the march towards universal human rights and the rule of law,” it is deeply troubling to read reports of corruption within the body of the UN. Julie Flint and Alex de Waal’s piece this month judiciously exposes yet another facet of questionable activities, namely at the heart of the ICC. Flint and de Waal’s piece quickly deepens into a long list of allegations against the personal …

Character Assassination In The Court Of Public Opinion, Tyler Moselle

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Alex de Waal and Julie Flint employ character assassination on Luis Moreno Ocampo in their World Affairs article “Case Closed: A Prosecutor Without Borders.” Ironically, they are guilty of the same crime they accuse Ocampo of: being overly occupied with the court of public opinion. Or perhaps, that is the only court they as Sudan specialists, and Ocampo as the ICC’s first Prosecutor, have recourse to when attempting to right the wrongs of injustice.

The Prosecutor Of The Icc: Too Political, Not Political Enough, Or Both?, Chandra Lekha Sriram

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Much of the criticism of the behavior of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, revolves around two apparently contradictory criticisms, although both may well be true: that he is too political, and that he is not political, or politically savvy, enough. Certainly, his rush to pursue high-profile indictments, contemporaneous with his pursuit of the “low-hanging fruit” (supposedly easy cases such as that of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo), suggest a prosecutor with sharp political instincts and a recognition of the need for a new institution to have a few “quick wins.” Yet, simultaneously, his blundering approach with respect to …

The International Criminal Court, Mark Gibney

Human Rights & Human Welfare

I believe I speak for many when I say that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has not been anywhere near the institution that it was anticipated as being, and the latest manifestation of the ICC’s shortcomings is the humanitarian disaster that has ensued after the Court issued an arrest warrant against Sudanese President Bashir. Since no other UN action is anticipated, all that remains is to count the ever-growing number of Sudanese deaths that will result from what now appears to be a purely symbolic act that was all-too predictable.

Case Posed: But Can The Prosecution Rest?, Charli Carpenter

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Julie Flint and Alex de Waal have published a damning article about the ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo which reads, by extension, as a trouncing of the entire institution. I’m not in the loop with the court’s day-to-day politics well enough to offer an informed counter-argument, so instead, by way of playing devil’s advocate, let me agree for argument’s sake with a number of the authors’ claims, hyperbolic and partisan though they sound at places, and then (again for argument’s sake), push back on the assumptions the authors make about the implications of those claims.

Changing The Culture Of Corruption - Do Small Steps Count?, Rhona Smith

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Corruption is endemic in modern society, but history attests this problem is as old as states themselves. No single solution to date has garnered sufficient political and/or popular support to effect change. Could education play a role in changing the culture?

April Roundtable: Introduction

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“Cambodia's Curse” by Joel Brinkley. Foreign Affairs. March/April 2009.

Cursing Cambodia, Charli Carpenter

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Joel Brinkley has written a heartbreaking piece in Foreign Affairs about Cambodian society thirty-five years after Pol Pot. We are presented with anecdote after anecdote about historical trauma, corruption, and poverty. It’s a depressing picture, and an important country case to have on the US’ foreign policy radar screen.

No Show, Mark Gibney

Human Rights & Human Welfare

For someone of my generation, any mention of Cambodia conjures up a jumble of images and emotions—albeit, nearly all from the distant past. Always appearing, but in no particular order, would be: the revelation of Nixon’s secret war; the killings at Kent State; strikes that closed down a number of American college campuses; Pol Pot; the seemingly endless debate whether to use the term Cambodia or the more radical “Kampuchea”; Prince Sihanouk; and last but certainly not least: the Khmer Rouge as the personification of a Third World liberation movement.

New Government In Cambodia, Tyler Moselle

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The government of Cambodia is replete with corruption and does not respond adequately to the needs of its citizens according to Joel Brinkley’s Foreign Affairs article “Cambodia’s Curse.” Pol Pot, the killing fields, and the Khmer Rouge still linger in the memories of most Americans when Cambodia’s name is mentioned. Yet, the country is currently languishing in the arms of an unresponsive governing elite whose fortunes may continue to improve due to oil and continuous aid grafting.

A Curse Not Limited To Cambodia, Chandra Lekha Sriram

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Brinkley’s piece draws welcome attention to the virtual farce of hybrid justice now underway in Cambodia, although the emphasis of the piece on the prevalence of corruption de-emphasizes a broader point: human rights protections are not respected in Cambodia, and serious accountability for the abuses by the Khmer Rouge or any subsequent abuses are unlikely, not merely because leaders are corrupt, but because the wide scale culture of impunity makes the protection of human rights and functional rule of law virtually impossible.

A Coincidental Trip To Cambodia, Rebecca Otis

Human Rights & Human Welfare

In a timely coincidence, Henry Alford’s recent travel article, “Banishing the Ghosts in Cambodia,” recently tantalized this reader with visions of a destination vacation in mind. Written for the travel-inspired readership of the New York Times, Alford’s version of Cambodia as a newly reborn hotspot for far flung Westerners approaches the point of lulling his decidedly non-Cambodian audience into pleasantly myopic vision of a plush Cambodian phoenix fully risen from its mired ashes. Amidst the outcropping of chic resorts and beautiful beaches reincarnated from the elegant, pre-Khmer Rouge moment of Cambodia’s forgotten past, Alford banishes the ghosts of Pol Pot’s …

Much Ado About Non-State Actors: The Vanishing Relevance Of State Affiliation In International Criminal Law, John Cerone

San Diego International Law Journal

Much has been made recently of the deficiencies of international law in grappling with violence perpetrated by non-state actors. From transnational terrorist networks to private security contractors (PSCs), organizations that are not officially part of the apparatus of any state are increasingly engaged in protracted episodes of intense violence, giving rise to questions of accountability under international law. Does international law provide rules applicable to such conduct? While the repression of crime, especially that perpetrated by non-state actors, has traditionally been left to the internal law of states, most international jurists will point to the ancient rules of international law …

Global Crisis Writ Large: The Effects Of Being Stateless In Thailand On Hill-Tribe Children,, Joy K. Park, John E. Tanagho, Mary E. Weicher Gaudette

San Diego International Law Journal

According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), "[n]o region of the world has been left untouched by the statelessness issue." International law defines a stateless person as someone "who is not considered as a national by any state under the operation of its law." Yet across the nations, stateless persons do not desire citizenship simply for the sake of citizenship. Ultimately, citizenship, or membership in a nation, provides a link between an individual and that nation and carries with it fundamental benefits and rights. Correspondingly,lack of citizenship translates into a denial of benefits and rights, including basic …

Isn't "Persecution" Enough? Redefining The Refugee Definition To Provide Greater Asylum Protection To Victims Of Gender- Based Persecution, Crystal Doyle

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Stopping The Killing And/Or Stopping Human Rights Violations, Edward Friedman

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The relationship between promoting human rights and stopping wars can be perplexing. The 19th century origins of the Geneva Convention and the International Commissions of the Red Cross (ICRC) are warnings about the moral danger, ambiguities, or tensions of bringing war within the arena of human rights considerations. Human rights and war can be a toxic cocktail. One should not want to make war more likely or legitimate or deadly by seeming to say that the killing machine on one side or the other is acting humanely, as if that makes war okay. War is hell.