Human Rights Law Commons^™

Break Their Lineage, Break Their Roots: Investigating The Chinese Government’S Relationship With The Uyghur Population To Determine The Potential For Terrorism And Genocide, Anya Veinberg

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

History is wrought with war, crime, and persecution. After nearly every conflict, world leaders vow to never let something similar happen again. Yet, history seems to repeat itself, and so do its conflicts. The Holocaust claimed the lives of millions of Jews and seemed to set a precedent of a modern threshold of evil. How many people would argue that an event strikingly similar to the Holocaust is happening right now in China?

The Chinese government is currently committing acts of violence and faith and race-based discrimination against the Uyghur population.

This work analyzes the interaction between the Chinese government …

A Right Without A Remedy: How One Cincinnatian's Story Illustrates Terrorism Victims' Inability To Obtain Compensation Under The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, Christopher T. Colloton

University of Cincinnati Law Review

No abstract provided.

History Repeating Itself: The Resurgence Of The Taliban And The Abandonment Of Afghan Women, Hannah Bogaert

Immigration and Human Rights Law Review

For two decades the United States and its allies fought against the Taliban in Afghanistan. After the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in late 2021, the Taliban has once again claimed the power of the country. The Taliban has already begun to implement restrictions that deny Afghan women their human rights. This article will outline the Taliban’s disregard for the International Bill of Human Rights, analyzing the Taliban’s observance of human rights before the U.S. invasion in 2001, post- U.S. withdrawal expressions by the Taliban in 2021, and post-U.S. withdrawal actions in 2021. Finally, this article will analyze different actions available …

National Security Policymaking In The Shadow Of International Law, Laura T. Dickinson

Utah Law Review

Scholars have long debated whether and how international law impacts governmental behavior, even in the absence of coercive sanction. But this literature does not sufficiently address the possible impact of international law in the area of national security policymaking. Yet, policies that the executive branch purports to adopt as a wholly discretionary matter may still be heavily influenced by international legal norms, regardless of whether or not those norms are formally recognized as legally binding. And those policies can be surprisingly resilient, even in subsequent administrations. Moreover, because they are only seen as discretionary policies, they may be more easily …

International Civil Individual Responsibility And The Security Council: Building The Foundations Of A General Regime, Vincent-Joël Proulx

Michigan Journal of International Law

This Article focuses on a few tools at the disposal of the United Nations Security Council (“UNSC”) to enhance individual (read: civil) responsibility concerning nonstate terrorist actors with a view to opening other avenues of inquiry regarding other subversive nonstate actors (“NSAs”), for instance in the areas of transnational torts, human rights (“HR”) violations, and environmental damage caused by business entities. As discussed in Part V, recent developments surrounding the application of the Alien Tort Claims Act (“ATCA”) in the United States and the prospect of establishing a basis for universal civil jurisdiction further signal that no such solid basis …

Counter-Terrorism And Human Rights: The Emergence Of A Rule Of Customary International Law From U.N. Resolutions, Joseph M. Isanga

Joseph Isanga

This article is divided into four sections. Section I will discuss how a rule of customary international law generally develops, including discussions of development from conventional sources and the use of United Nations resolutions for finding a rule of customary international law generally. Section II will expound the treatment of and reliance upon the United Nations resolutions as a source of law by the International Court of Justice, in order to facilitate our discussion of an emerging rule of customary international law from resolutions. Section III will consider the limitations for using resolutions as binding statements of opinio juris. Finally, …

No Place To Call Home: The Iraqi Kurds Under The Ba’Ath, Saddam Hussein, And Isis, Craig Douglas Albert Ph.D.

Chicago-Kent Law Review

The Kurds are the world’s largest ethnonational group without their own state. They have often been the target of ethnic strife and discrimination. Even within their semi-autonomous territory, Iraqi Kurds have faced humiliation and oppression. This essay argues that the Kurds in Iraq have been deprived of their property and dignity and hence have been subjected to “dignity takings.” This occurred in three distinct phases: the 1970s under “Ba’athification,” the 1980s under Saddam Hussein, and at present under the Islamic State (ISIS). During each phase, the Kurds have suffered involuntary property loss through forced relocations and the destruction of homes …

Material Support Laws And Critical Race Theory, Nichole M. Pace

Access*: Interdisciplinary Journal of Student Research and Scholarship

The paper examines terrorism designation and material support laws for structural racism using Critical Race Theory. Legislation concerning terrorist organizations continues to limit efforts of humanitarian organizations and refugee applicants. The impact of such legislation extends beyond the designated terrorist organizations to the communities and countries they inhabit. This article describes the legal statutes and issues related to terrorist designation and material support laws before defining Critical Race Theory. The article seeks to understand the structural racism involved in the defined statutes and procedures. Using Critical Race Theory, the article defines how material support laws and terrorist designation procedures are …

The Future Of U.S. Detention Under International Law: Workshop Report, International Committee Of The Red Cross (Icrc), Harvard Law School Program On International Law And Armed Conflict (Hls Pilac), Stockton Center For The Study Of International Law (U.S. Naval War College)

International Law Studies

The International Committee of the Red Cross Regional Delegation for the United States and Canada, the Harvard Law School Program on International Law and Armed Conflict, and the Stockton Center for the Study of International Law at the U.S. Naval War College recently hosted a workshop titled Global Battlefields: The Future of U.S. Detention under International Law. The workshop was designed to facilitate discussion on international law issues pertaining to U.S. detention practices and policies in armed conflict. Workshop participants included members of government, legal experts, practitioners and scholars from a variety of countries. This report attempts to capture the …

A Human Rights Perspective To Global Battlefield Detention: Time To Reconsider Indefinite Detention, Yuval Shany

International Law Studies

This article discusses one principal challenge to detention without trial of suspected international terrorists—the international human rights law (IHRL) norm requiring the introduction of an upper limit on the duration of security detention in order to render it not indefinite in length. Part One of this article describes the “hardline” position on security detention, adopted by the United States in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks (followed, with certain variations, by other countries, including the United Kingdom and the State of Israel), according to which international terrorism suspects can be deprived of their liberty without trial for the …

The Limits Of Inviolability: The Parameters For Protection Of United Nations Facilities During Armed Conflict, Laurie R. Blank

International Law Studies

This article examines the international legal protections for United Nations humanitarian assistance and other civilian facilities during armed conflict, including under general international law, setting forth the immunities of the United Nations, and the law of armed conflict (LOAC), the relevant legal framework during wartime. Recent conflicts highlight three primary issues: (1) collateral damage to UN facilities as a consequence of strikes on military objectives nearby and military operations in the immediate vicinity; (2) the misuse of UN facilities for military purposes; and (3) direct attacks on fighters, weapons or other equipment that cause damage to such facilities. To identify …

Without Unnecessary Delay: Using Army Regulation 190–8 To Curtail Extended Detention At Sea, Meghan Claire Hammond

Northwestern University Law Review

This Note analyzes instances of U.S. detention of suspected terrorists while at sea as an alternative to Guantánamo, and how this at-sea detention fits in the interplay of U.S. statutory law, procedural law, and applicable international law. Of particular interest is the dual use of military and civilian legal regimes to create a procedural-protection-free zone on board U.S. warships during a detainee’s transfer from their place of capture to the U.S. court system. The Note concludes that U.S. Army Regulation 190–8 contains language of which the purpose and intent may be analogized to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure requirements …

Foreign Terrorist Fighters In Syria: Challenges Of The “Sending” State, Marten Zwanenburg

International Law Studies

This article discusses domestic measures taken by the Netherlands to combat the phenomenon of foreign terrorist fighters, predominantly in the context of the Syrian conflict. It discusses criminal prosecution, asset freezes, deprivation of nationality and revocation of travel documents. The author concludes that in each of these fields, there is a close relationship between international law and national law.

Gandhi’S Prophecy: Corporate Violence And A Mindful Law For Bhopal, Nehal A. Patel

Nehal A. Patel

AbstractOver thirty years have passed since the Bhopal chemical disaster began,and in that time scholars of corporate social responsibility (CSR) havediscussed and debated several frameworks for improving corporate responseto social and environmental problems. However, CSR discourse rarelydelves into the fundamental architecture of legal thought that oftenbuttresses corporate dominance in the global economy. Moreover, CSRdiscourse does little to challenge the ontological and epistemologicalassumptions that form the foundation for modern economics and the role ofcorporations in the world.I explore methods of transforming CSR by employing the thought ofMohandas Gandhi. I pay particular attention to Gandhi’s critique ofindustrialization and principle of swadeshi (self-sufficiency) …

Democracy And Torture, Patrick A. Maurer

Patrick A Maurer

September 11th spawned an era of political changes to fundamental rights. The focus of this discussion is to highlight Guantanamo Bay torture incidents. This analysis will explore the usages of torture from a legal standpoint in the United States.

Coping With Non-International Armed Conflicts: The Borderline Between National And International Law, Bart De Schutter, Christine Van De Wyngaert

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Repatriate . . . Then Compensate: Why The United States Owes Reparation Payments To Former Guantánamo Detainees, Cameron Bell

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

In late 2001, U.S. government officials chose Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, as the site to house the “war on terror” detainees. Since then, 779 individuals have been detained at Guantánamo. Many of the detainees have endured years of detention, cruel and degrading treatment, and for some, torture—conduct that violates well-established prohibitions against torture and inhumane treatment under both general international law and the law of war. Under these bodies of law, the United States is required to make reparation—through restitution, compensation, and satisfaction—for acts that violate its international obligations. But the United States has not offered financial compensation to any Guantánamo …

Redefining Terrorism: The Danger Of Misunderstanding The Modern World's Gravest Threat, Jennifer Breedon

Jennifer Breedon

No abstract provided.

Indefinite Detention And Antiterrorism Laws: Balancing Security And Human Rights, Joanne M. Sweeny

Pace Law Review

This article does more than describe British and American anti-terrorism laws; it shows how those laws go through conflicted government branches and the bargains struck to create the anti-terrorism laws that exist today. Instead of taking these laws as given, this Article explains why they exist. More specifically, this article focuses on the path anti-terrorism legislation followed in the United States and the United Kingdom, with particular focus on each country’s ability (or lack thereof) to indefinitely detain suspected non-citizen terrorists. Both countries’ executives sought to have that power and both were limited by the legislatures and courts but in …

Democracy's Struggle Against Terrorism: The Powers Of Military Commanders To Decide Upon The Demolition Of Houses, The Imposition Of Curfews, Blockades, Encirclements And The Declaration Of An Area As A Closed Military Area, Emanuel Gross

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Rogue States, Weapons Of Mass Destruction, And Terrorism: Was Security Council Approval Necessary For The Invasion Of Iraq?, Jason Pedigo

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

"To Kill A Cleric?: The Al-Awlaki Case And The Chaplaincy Exception Under The Laws Of War", K Benson

K Benson

Anwar al-Awlaki was the first American citizen to be targeted for extrajudicial assassination by the Obama administration. While scholarly attention has focused on legality of his killing under domestic law, his status as a chaplain under International Humanitarian Law (IHL) has gone unexamined. The possibility that Anwar al-Awlaki may have been a protected person as a chaplain has profound ramifications for the legality of his killing and for the conduct of the war on terror more generally. As the definition of a "Chaplain" under IHL is under-developed at best and vague at worst, ideologues such as Mr. al-Awlaki operate in …

When Is A War Not A War? The Myth Of The Global War On Terror, Mary Ellen O'Connell

Mary Ellen O'Connell

It is essential to correctly classify situations in the world as ones of war or peace: human lives depend on the distinction, but so do liberty, property, and the integrity of the natural environment. President Bush's war on terror finds war where suspected members of al Qaeda are found. By contrast, war under international law exists where hostilities are on-going. To the extent there is ambiguity, the United States should err on the side of pursuing terrorists within the peacetime criminal law enforcement paradigm, not a wartime one. Not only does the criminal law better protect important human rights and …

Report Of The Independent Expert On The Protection Of Human Rights And Fundamental Freedoms While Countering Terrorism, Robert K. Goldman

Robert K. Goldman

The Commission on Human Rights, in resolution 2004/87, decided to designate, from within existing resources, for a period of one year, an independent expert to assist the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the fulfillment of the mandate described in the resolution and, “taking fully into account the study requested in General Assembly resolution 58/187, as well as the discussions in the Assembly and the views of States thereon, to submit a report, through the High Commissioner, to the Commission at its sixty-first session on ways and means of strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms …

Reclassifying "Terrorists" As Victims: Integrating Terrorism Analysis Into The Particular Social Group Framework Of Asylum, Emily Naser-Hall

Emily Naser-Hall

After the September 11th terrorist attacks at the hands of al-Qaeda operatives who slipped through the cracks of the US immigration system, immigration and asylum law became increasingly focused on ensuring that potential terrorists are not allowed into the United States. The USA PATRIOT Act and its subsequent legislation created what has become an unyielding bar to admission for any individual who is a member of a terrorist organization or who has committed terrorist activities. While the terrorism bar developed in response to real or perceived threats to US national security and has recently regained public light with the trial …

Quaint And Obsolete: The ‘War On Terror’ And The Right To Legal Personality, Michael Galchinsky

English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Challenges Of Delivering International Humanitarian Aid In A Post-9/11 Global Framework, Catherine Gonzalez

Maryland Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

Is Torture Justified In Terrorism Cases?: Comparing U.S. And European Views, Stephen P. Hoffman

Stephen P. Hoffman

This essay discusses issues of torture and some of the philosophical underpinnings. First, I define torture as it is used in international and human rights law. Then, I discuss three primary theories of torture: deontology, consequentialism, and threshold deontology. After setting this groundwork, I introduce particular issues in terrorism cases such as the “ticking bomb” scenario, which is often used to argue that torture may be appropriate and possibly required when done to save many lives. This invariably must include a discussion of the necessity doctrine, the legal doctrine allowing an individual to take extraordinary — even illegal — measures …

Assimilation Anxiety: Islamic Migration As A Perceived Threat To Western Cultures, David Barnhizer

David Barnhizer

In this cynical age it is common to smirk at claims about what is sometimes called American Exceptionalism, a term standing for the conclusion that America is an historically distinct (and better) system. To some degree it does represent cultural arrogance founded on assumption rather than fact. It also ignores “exceptionally” dark chapters in American history, including slavery, seizing of lands from Native Americans and imprisoning of US citizens of Japanese descent. Nonetheless it seems that given the diversity of the population and the sheer enormity of the nation that, as stated by an Asian Indian friend who is a …

The Contradiction Between Alien Tort Statute Jurisprudence And The Continued Immunity Of U.S. Officials For Acts Of Torture Committed Abroad, Jules Lobel

Maryland Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.