International Humanitarian Law Commons^™

Reducing The Negative Effects Of Counterterrorism Frameworks And Other Restrictive Measures On Humanitarian Action And Enforcing The Obligations Of States In Relation To The Covid-19 Vaccine, Claudio Cerqueira Bastos Netto

American University International Law Review

Countering terrorism has been a priority agenda point for the international community, especially after the September 11th attacks. As the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) points out, “States have had to confront a threat emanating from individuals and non-State armed groups [(NSAGs)] that resort to acts of terrorism. In response, States and international organizations have developed increasingly robust counterterrorism measures.”

Sexual Violence As A Weapon Of War In Ethiopia's Tigray Region And The Developing Adjudication Of Violations Of The Protocol On The Rights Of Women In Africa, Valerie R. Cook

American University International Law Review

On November 4, 2020, a civil war broke out in the Tigray region of Ethiopia between joint Ethiopian and Eritrean military forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (“TPLF”). The war is in part an ethnic conflict between the newly centralized nationalist government under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the once politically dominant beneficiaries of a federalist system, the TPLF. Sexual violence as a method of war has become a hallmark of this conflict as reports of rape by Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers against Tigrayan women have increased.

El Control Estatal De La (Des)Informacion En Internet En El Contexto De La Pandemia: Un Analisis De Las Tendencias Regionales Bajo Una Perspectiva De Libertad De Expresion, Paula Roko

American University International Law Review

El 3 de mayo de 2020, en el marco del Día Mundial de la Libertad de Prensa, el secretario general de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas (ONU) afirmó que la desinformación se ha convertido en la “segunda pandemia”. Unos meses antes, el Director General de la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) ya había señalado que “las noticias falsas se difunden más rápido y con más facilidad que el virus, y que son igual de peligrosas”. Estos fueron comentarios recurrentes durante el 2020, un año que será recordado por el estallido de una pandemia mundial sin precedentes. Teorías conspirativas …

Introduction Human Rights And States Of Emergency: Unexpected Crisis And New Challenges, Claudia Martin, Diego Rodriguez-Pinzon

American University International Law Review

We are delighted to present this year’s special issue of the American University International Law Review and the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, which includes two of the best essays in English and in Spanish recognized in the 2021 Human Rights Essay Award competition. It is satisfying to think that this competition allowed a number of participants an opportunity to expound their thoughts on so many important topics, regarding so many areas of the world. We hope these participants are able to use their articles as mechanisms for change.

The Peace Corps Is Failing To Keep Volunteers Safe, Marnie Leonard

Human Rights Brief

Nicole Jacobson, an American Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) in a Zambian village, was “far from home and feeling alone” when the father of the host family that the Peace Corps (“the agency”) placed her with sexually assaulted her. Jacobson reported the assault to Peace Corps staff, who told her it was a cultural misunderstanding and kept Jacobson at the site for more than a year before allowing her to leave in 2018. Unfortunately, Jacobson’s story is not unique. In fact, she is one of many Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) who have come forward in recent years to share stories …

Brazil’S Violence Against Indigenous Peoples, Andre Taylor

Human Rights Brief

Centuries of violence and displacement define the relationship between indigenous peoples and the successive governments of Brazil. As Brazil embarks on a massive expansion of its agribusiness and mining operations, the systemic denial of land rights and illegal economic activity on protected lands has threatened traditional ways of life practiced by indigenous peoples. The most aggressive policy taken by the Brazilian government has involved legitimizing land claims on unregistered ancestral indigenous lands for development, putting 37,800 square miles of territory at risk for exploitation by loggers, ranchers, and farmers.

The Right To Assembly Should Extend Online In China, Gracie Kreth

Human Rights Brief

Peng Shuai, China’s star tennis player, logged onto the Chinese social media platform Weibo in November 2021 and posted a description of her relationship with Zhang Gaoli, a powerful Chinese leader and former Vice Premier of China. Shuai alleged in her post that after a consensual relationship with Gaoli, he sexually assaulted her. She described her feelings from the trauma and the suicidal thoughts that followed. Within minutes, the Chinese government scrubbed the post from the internet — but it was still quick to spread, battling the “Great Firewall.” Shuai’s profile essentially disappeared online; along with Shuai in the real …

Romanian Government Will Implement Measures To Prevent Further Violations Of Rightsof People With Mental Health Conditions Or Disabilities In Accord With The Decision Of The European Court Of Human Rights, Tesa Hargis

Human Rights Brief

On June 21 and 22, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and Romania discussed reform measures based on various judgements delivered during the nine-year period between 2012 and 2021. At issue before the ECtHR’s Department for Execution of Judgments was insufficient legal protection, lack of medical and social care, deficiencies in the legal framework governing involuntary placement, inadequate management of psychiatric conditions of detainees, and overcrowding and poor conditions in Romanian mental health facilities.

Chocholáčv. Slovakia: Prisoners, Porn, & Morality In Human Rights, Amanda Lorenzo

Human Rights Brief

Chocholáč v. Slovakia asks whether Slovakia’s disciplinary actions against a prisoner in possession of concealed pornographic materials violated the European Convention of Human Rights (“the Convention”). Roman Chocholáč, a thirtythree-year-old currently serving a life sentence in Leopoldov prison was found possessing a “popular weekly magazine” with sexually-explicit pictures pasted inside. The State deemed the added material a threat to morality and prison staff confiscated it. On November 21, 2017, Chocholáč v. Slovakia was brought to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), presenting legal questions under Slovakia’s Criminal Code and Execution of Prison Sentences Act, as well as Articles 8 …

Overcoming The Westphalian Notion Of "Absolute Sovereignty": The Venezuelan Case With The Inter-American Convention Of Human Rights, Gabriel Ortiz

Human Rights Brief

In 2012, Former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez withdrew from the American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR or “the Convention”). He presented a letter issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs before the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS). The denunciation became effective in 2013. Thereafter, no one could petition before the Inter-American Commission or the Inter-American Court (IACHR) to hold Venezuela accountable for human rights violations. Meanwhile, between 2014 and 2019, the government’s armed groups have killed more than 19,000 people.

Prologue, Claudio Grossman, Robert K. Goldman

American University International Law Review

We are pleased to write this prologue for the special issue of the American University International Law Review featuring the winning papers from the 2021 Human Rights Essay Award, sponsored by the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law of American University Washington College of Law.

Derogations To Human Rights During A Global Pandemic: Unpacking Normative And Practical Challenges, Roman Girma Teshome

American University International Law Review

After the World Health Organization (WHO) characterized the COVID-19 outbreak as a “global pandemic,” States responded by taking more restrictive and urgent measures. These measures ranged from restrictions on public events to partial or total lockdowns, which restrict a plethora of human rights. Additionally, an unprecedented number of States declared a state of emergency to justify these measures; as of this writing, roughly two-thirds of States declared a state of emergency due to COVID-19 under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (“ICCPR”).

The Invasion Of Ukraine: A Gross Violation Of International Law, Claudio Grossman

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

In recent weeks, humanity has witnessed a war in Europe as a result of Russia’s unjustified invasion of Ukraine.

Academy On Human Rights And Humanitarian Law Articles On Human Rights And States Of Emergency: Unexpected Crisis And New Challenges: Introduction, Claudia Martin, Diego Rodriguez-Pinzon

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

We are delighted to present this year's special issue of the American UniversityInternationalLaw Review and the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, which includes two of the best essays in English and in Spanish recognized in the 2021 Human Rights Essay Award competition. It is satisfying to think that this competition allowed a number of participants an opportunity to expound their thoughts on so many important topics, regarding so many areas of the world. We hope these participants are able to use their articles as mechanisms for change.

Academy On Human Rights And Humanitarian Law Articles On Human Rights And States Of Emergency: Unexpected Crisis And New Challenges: Prologue, Claudio Grossman, Robert K. Goldman

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

We are pleased to write this prologue for the special issue of the American UniversityInternationalLaw Review featuring the winning papers from the 2021 Human Rights Essay Award, sponsored by the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law of American University Washington College of Law.

Platform-Enabled Crimes: Pluralizing Accountability When Social Media Companies Enable Perpetrators To Commit Atrocities, Rebecca Hamilton

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

Online intermediaries are omnipresent. Each day across the globe, the corporations running these platforms execute policies and practices that serve their profit model, typically by sustaining user engagement. Sometimes, these seemingly banal business activities enable principal perpetrators to commit crimes. Online intermediaries, however, are almost never held to account for their complicity in the resulting harms. This Article introduces the concept of platformenabled crimes into the legal literature to highlight the ways in which the ordinary business activities of online intermediaries enable the commission of crime. It then focuses on a subset of platform-enabled crimes—those in which a social media …

Guide On Multisectional Responses For The Protection Of Migrants, Refugees, And Internally Displaced Persons During And After The Covid-19 Pandemic, Diego Rodriguez-Pinzon, Claudia Martin

Research Reports & White Papers

The Guide on Multisectoral Responses for the Protection of Migrants, Refugees, and Internally Displaced Persons during and after the COVID19 pandemic is an initiative of the Department of Social Inclusion of the Secretariat for Access to Rights and Equity of the Organization of American States (OAS) that offers a situational analysis and promotes a dialogue on proposals to address the particular needs of migrants, refugees, and internally displaced persons in the face of the emergency generated by COVID-19. It also seeks to define proposals with a post-pandemic perspective that provide multisectoral responses to address the needs of vulnerable populations.

This …

The Statelessness Of The Children Of North Korean Women Defectors In China, Chae Mims

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

How A Fisherman's Murder Revealed Morocco's Police Brutality And Ethnic Discrimination, Nora Elmubarak

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

Toward Permanent Peace And Stability In Artsakh, George Yacoubain

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

Pandemics And International Law: The Need For International Action, Claudio Grossman

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

Rise Of Illiberal Democracy, Weakening Of The Rule Of Law, & Implementation Of Human Rights In The Philippines, Gemmo Bautista Fernandez

American University International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Broken, Beaten, And Starved: Attacking Water Resources As Objects Indispensable To The Survival Of A Civilian Population In Yemen’S Internal Armed Conflict, Meagan Desimone

American University International Law Review

No abstract provided.

No Child Should Feel Left Behind: The Illegality Of Orphanage Voluntourism Under Article 19 Of The United Nations Convention Of The Rights Of A Child, Lily Baron

American University International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Going Off The Rails On The Mayan Train: How Amlo’S Development Project Is On A Fast Track To Multiple Violations Of Indigenous Rights, Jared Green

American University International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Rule Of Law And Human Rights: Strengthening Democratic Institutions, Claudia Martin, Diego Rodriguez-Pinzon

American University International Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Challenge Of Covid-19 And The World Health Organization’S Response: The Principal-Agent Model Revisited, Miron Mushkat, Roda Mushkat

American University International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Tanzania Blocks Direct Petitions To The African Court On Human And Peoples' Rights, Ben Phillips

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

¿Protesta Social Antidemocrática? Hacia Nuevas Formas De Participación Ciudadana A Través Del Internet En El Marco De Las Recientes Movilizaciones En Colombia, Natalia Beltrán Orjuela

American University International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Mining In Guatemala: Human Rights And Investment Treaty Arbitration, Valentina Capotosto

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.