International Humanitarian Law Commons^™

Nefarious Notarios: Responding To Immigration Scams As White Collar Crime As A Matter Of Public Policy, Sarah Cossman

Refugee Law & Migration Studies Brief

Immigration scams targeting non-citizens can have devastating impacts on an individual's status and ability to remain in the United States legally. The phenomenon of notario fraud occurs when an individual misrepresents themself as a notario publico in an effort to defraud immigrants seeking legal services. In Spanish-speaking countries, a notario publico is a highly trained legal professional, akin to an attorney, who provides legal advice and drafts legal documents. The term is a false cognate. The English equivalent, a notary, is an individual with narrow witnessing duties and much less discretion. Problems arise when individuals obtain a notary public license …

Anti-Corruption’S Next Great Migration?: Strengthening U.S. Refugee And Asylum Law Under Existing U.S. Anti-Corruption Commitments, Bianka Ukleja

Refugee Law & Migration Studies Brief

First, this paper will describe the U.S.’s anticorruption commitments under international law. Next, it will present the general features of current U.S. refugee and asylum law, pertaining to particular social group (PSG) and political opinion claims. Last, this paper will discuss how the Biden Anti-Corruption Memo provides fertile ground for DHS to initiate an informal rulemaking process under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) to engage civil society on how U.S. refugee and asylum laws can better support a pathway to citizenship for anti-corruption activists in pursuit of key U.S. foreign policy interests abroad and who find themselves unable to seek …

Future-Proofing U.S. Laws For War Crimes Investigations In The Digital Era, Rebecca Hamilton

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

Advances in information technology have irrevocably changed the nature of war crimes investigations. The pursuit of accountability for the most serious crimes of concern to the international community now invariably requires access to digital evidence. The global reach of platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter means that much of that digital evidence is held by U.S. social media companies, and access to it is subject to the U.S. Stored Communications Act.

This is the first Article to look at the legal landscape facing international investigators seeking access to digital evidence regarding genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and aggression. It …

Submission To The United Nations Universal Periodic Review Of Saudi Arabia, Mwatana For Human Rights, Smith Family Human Rights Clinic

Human Rights Institute

Mwatana Organization for Human Rights (Mwatana) and the Columbia Law School Smith Family Human Rights Clinic (Clinic) jointly submit this report to inform the examination of Saudi Arabia during its Universal Periodic Review.

Phr & Clihhr Submission To Icc Otp (May 2023), Physicians For Human Rights (Phr), Cardozo Law Institute In Holocaust And Human Rights (Clihhr)

CLIHHR Reports & Policy Submissions

This report was submitted by the Cardozo Law Institute in Holocaust and Human Rights (CLIHHR) and Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) in May 2023 to the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the International Criminal Court (ICC). It provides legal and strategic recommendations on investigating and prosecuting crimes of sexual and gender-based violence, with an emphasis on survivor-centered approaches and international legal standards. The submission highlights the importance of addressing such crimes within the framework of international justice.

Human Rights, Trans Rights, Prisoners’ Rights: An International Comparison, Tom Butcher

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

In this Note, I conduct an international comparison of the state of trans prisoners’ rights to explore how different national legal contexts impact the likelihood of achieving further liberation through appeals to human rights ideals. I examine the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, India, Argentina, and Costa Rica and show the degree to which a human rights framework has been successful thus far in advancing trans prisoners’ rights. My analysis also indicates that the degree to which a human rights framework is likely to be successful in the future varies greatly between countries. In countries that are hesitant …

Movement Lawyering: Rebuilding Community Power & Decentering Law, Sami Schramm, Naima Muminiy, Madison Sharp, Angela Altieri, Thea Cabrera Montejo

Human Rights Brief

On Thursday, February 16, 2023, the Human Rights Brief held its annual symposium entitled Movement Lawyering: Rebuilding Community Power and Decentering Law. It was organized by Angela Altieri, Madison Sharp, Naima Muminiy, Sami Schramm, Destiny Staten, Angel Gardner, Leila Hamouie, Fabian Kopp, Marnie Leonard, and Thea Cabrera Montejo. Together, the team curated a day full of empowering keynotes, inspiring panels, and an insightful workshop. The team also created a resource to document the event.

Access To Education: Protecting Students With Disabilities By Decriminalizing Behavior, Maria Jardeleza

Human Rights Brief

Contrary to international human rights standards, laws that criminalize disorderly and disruptive behavior in schools neglect the needs of students with disabilities. These laws lead to the exclusion of students with disabilities from educational settings and are applied unfairly against them. This Article will first look at state statutes and school policies that grant broad discretion in determining when and how to exclude students from learning opportunities through suspensions, expulsions, and referrals to law enforcement1. Understanding the use of these statutes against students within the context of the data on school discipline rates for students with disabilities shows the disproportionate …

A Double Standard In Refugee Response: Contrasting The Treatment Of Syrian Refugees With Ukrainian Refugees, Deanna Alsbeti

Human Rights Brief

The unrelenting proliferation of international crises marks the twenty-first century with mass global displacement. In 2011, the world witnessed the Arab Spring, a series of anti-government protests that led to the Syrian Civil War and injected more than 13.5 million displaced Syrians into the global system. Today, twelve years later, the international system still struggles to accommodate and protect Syrians who cannot return to their homeland. In addition to the dire Syrian refugee crisis, and other refugee crises throughout the globe, the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine added approximately 7.5 million Ukrainian refugees to the world’s already stressed humanitarian system.

Can Mediation Provide Remedy For Human Rights Violations? A Quest For Justice Using A Development Bank Accountability Mechanism, Natalie Bugalski, David Pred

Perspectives

This essay describes what it takes—the enormous tenacity, solidarity, courage and skill required—for communities and their civil society partners to seek recourse through the dispute resolution processes of development bank accountability mechanisms. While these mechanisms can be the crucial centerpiece of an effective strategy, their critical shortcomings mean that community advocates must often engage in Olympian advocacy gymnastics to achieve even a small measure of redress. The essay makes recommendations for strengthening community-centered accountability in development finance, so that remediation and prevention of harm become the norm, and not the rare exception.

Sanctions As Virtue-Signaling: Transitioning From Symbolism To Reparation For Rohingya Genocide Victim, Kelsey Peden

American University International Law Review

Kyi sat on the banks of the Inya Lake, saying goodbye to the place they said was no longer her home. The government of Myanmar had given her an option: leave or be arrested. She felt lucky to leave; most activists she knew did not get a warning first. A few kilometers away, her parents’ graves sat cleaned, adorned with fresh flowers. She hoped her sister would keep up the task in her absence, but she hadn’t been able to get ahold of her in quite some time. The feeling of the country was getting more concerned—"frantic" she explained, laughing, …

Facial Recognition System Is A Violation Of Human Rights In The Context Of The Echr, Aykhan Dadashov

Human Rights Brief

On January 31, 2020, Nikolay Sergeyevich Glukhin lodged a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) arguing that the Russian government violated his right to respect for private life (Article 8) and freedom of expression (Article 10) under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Glukhin held a banner in metro station of Moscow to protest the detention and criminal proceedings against a political activist. Using CCTV cameras and videos taken by a passersby on an app called Telegram, the police managed to identify and arrest Glukhin. It investigated CCTV cameras installed in other stations for further inquiry …

Youth Voices For Human Rights Litigation In The Face Of Climate Change, Mckenzie Gallagher

Human Rights Brief

In the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), six young activists, age eleven to twentyfour, filed a case against thirty-two countries claiming violations of their human rights related to climate change. The Grand Chambers of the ECtHR heard the case, Duarte Agostinho and Others v. Portugal and Others, on September 27, 2023, but the court has yet to issue an opinion on the admissibility and merits of the claim. The case was granted priority status and deferred directly to the Grand Chambers due to the importance of the issue, climate change.

The International Criminal Court’S Arbitrary Exercise Of Its Duties Under The Rome Statute To The Benefit Of Western Global Supremacy, Azadeh Shahshahani, Sofia Veronica Montez

Human Rights Brief

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is a constituent institution of the United Nations (UN) that investigates and prosecutes perpetrators of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression. Established in 1998 by the Rome Statute, the ICC may open an investigation through referrals by state parties to the Statute; referrals by the UN Security Council; or the prosecutor’s own initiative. Additionally, non-party states may extend qualified jurisdiction to the ICC to prosecute cases within their territories, setting the scope of investigations and prosecutions as well as the dates they shall encompass.

The Rome Statute assigns various other …

Former Peruvian President Fujimori's Forced Sterilization Program Faces Prosecution 26 Years Later, Taylor Potenziano

Human Rights Brief

In 1996, the Peruvian government under President Alberto Fujimori launched the National Reproductive Health and Family Planning Program (PNSRPF). While the government pitched the program as a way to promote access to family planning for low-income families and a way for women to be “masters of their own destiny,” the PNSRPF functioned as a forced sterilization program. From 1996 to 2001, 272,028 people were forcibly sterilized, the majority of them impoverished indigenous women from rural areas.

Violating The Protections Of International Law: Examining Methods To Combat The Practice Of Female, Angel R. Gardner

Human Rights Brief

In 2021, the women’s rights non-governmental organization (“NGO”), Equality Now, filed a lawsuit alongside other organizations1 challenging Mali’s failure to outlaw the practice of female genital mutilation (“FGM”). FGM involves the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to female genital organs for non-medical purposes. The practice of FGM traces back to an ancient ritual, however, current research reveals that it causes serious health problems. The case brought by these NGOs has the potential to create binding precedent against the practice of FGM across all the African States.

One Of Many: The Power Of Publication In The Human Rights Regime, Amanda Lorenzo

Human Rights Brief

On September 19, 2011, the High Court of Tanzania found Ghati Mwita guilty of murder for a February 4, 2008 homicide, sentencing her to hang pursuant to Tanzania’s mandatory death sentence. The domestic Court of Appeal sitting at Mwanza dismissed Mwita’s appeal on March 11, 2013 and rejected her application for review on that decision on March 19, 2015. Mwita then brought the case to the African Court of Human Rights (the Court) alleging that the conviction and sentencing procedures violated her fundamental rights under the Banjul Charter (the Charter).

Principles On Effective Investigative Interviews: A New Instrument Of International Law, Juan E. Mendez, Matthew Ilsley

Human Rights Brief

International law absolutely prohibits torture and ill-treatment, yet such abuses remain prevalent and widespread. It most frequently occurs in the questioning of individuals by law enforcement, intelligence officials, and military personnel in the context of “fighting crime,” obtaining confessions, controlling detainees, and “counterterrorism.” The “Torture Memorandums,” exemplifying the deeply misguided practices used in the global fight against terror following the attacks of September 11, 2001, illuminated the pervasiveness of these practices.

The Forgotten Sexual And Gender-Based Violence Of The Vietnam-American War: Is Justice Too Late For Vietnamese Victims And Survivors?, Madison P. Bingle

Human Rights Brief

“The past, far from disappearing or lying down and being quiet, has an embarrassing and persistent way of returning and haunting us unless it has in fact been dealt with adequately.” —Desmond Tutu

The Vietnam-American War ended nearly fifty years ago. However, the atrocities committed during the war have had a devasting impact on the lives of persons involved long after the conflicts’ end. A particularly marginalized group within survivors and victims of the Vietnam-American War is Vietnamese women who experienced sexual and gender-based violence. And given the specific tactics of warfare employed during this war, including the use of …

Unwinding “Law And Order”: How Second Look Mechanisms Resist Mass Incarceration And Increase Justice, Destiny Fullwood, Cecilia Bruni

Human Rights Brief

For decades, the United States has used incarceration to achieve a particularized version of safety. Amidst the civil rights movement, presidential candidate Barry Goldwater wielded the phrase “law and order” against the masses of Black men, women, and children in their fight for equitable treatment. This came at a time when “[i]t was no longer socially permissible for polite White people to say they opposed equal rights for Black Americans. Instead, they began ‘talking about the urban uprisings’” and “attaching [those] to street crime, to ordinary lawlessness[.]” The result was a decades-long, persistent campaign to maintain order by arresting and …

Into The Valley Of The Shadow Of Death: War Crimes Committed In Service Of Russia's Crusade To Destroy Ukraine, Chris Galarza

American University National Security Law Brief

When Russian tanks rolled across the border into Ukraine during the early morning of February 24, 2022, most in the American defense and diplomatic establishment were shocked and sure the war would be over in a few days. Credible open-source tactical and strategic analysis predicted that Ukraine’s regular military forces would be defeated in “days or weeks” as long as Russian military forces were determined to pursue their objectives. The United States Government was so sure that Kyiv was under imminent threat of capture that they offered to evacuate President Volodymyr Zelenskyy so that he could rule from exile, rather …

The Right To A Healthy Environment And The Global South, Carmen G. Gonzalez

Faculty Publications & Other Works

This essay explores the implications of the right to a healthy environment for the long-standing criticisms of international human rights law as a project and product of the Global North. It examines the Southern origins of the right to a healthy environment and its interpretations in regional human rights tribunals. The essay analyzes the responses offered by this evolving jurisprudence to various objections to human rights-based approaches to environmental protection. These include the human rights-based framework’s individualism, anthropocentrism, failure to address transboundary harm, and failure to challenge the economic law instruments that perpetuate environmental degradation.

Unsettling Human Rights Clinical Pedagogy And Practice In Settler Colonial Contexts, Jocelyn Getgen Kestenbaum, Caroline Bishop Laporte

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

In settler colonial contexts, law and educational institutions operate as structures of oppression, extraction, erasure, disempowerment, and continuing violence against colonized peoples. Consequently, clinical legal advocacy often can reinforce coloniality—the logic that perpetuates structural violence against individuals and groups resisting colonization and struggling for survival as peoples. Critical legal theory, including Third World Approaches to International Law (“TWAIL”), has long exposed colonial laws and practices that entrench discriminatory, racialized power structures and prevent transformative international human rights advocacy. Understanding and responding to these critiques can assist in decolonizing international human rights clinical law teaching and practice but is insufficient in …

Restraining The Heartless: Erosion Of Corporate Liability Under The Alien Tort Statute And The Path Forward For Victims Seeking Redress, Alexa M. Duffy

American University Law Review

The Alien Tort Statute (“ATS”) is a U.S. federal law dating back to 1789 that allows non-U.S. citizens to file civil lawsuits in federal courts against individuals or entities for alleged international law violations. While originally interpreted to address piracy and the safeguarding of foreign diplomats, the ATS gained new relevance in the late twentieth century when it was used to hold individuals and corporations accountable for human rights abuses committed abroad, making it a critical tool in seeking justice for human rights violations.

This Comment argues that there is no longer a realistic federal forum for ATS suits against …

Ukraine's Push To Prosecute Aggression: Implications For Immunity Ratione Personae And The Crime Of Aggression, Rebecca Hamilton

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

Russia’s aggression against Ukraine dates back to its 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s southern peninsula, Crimea. It was Russia’s brazen full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, however, that captured global attention and put the crime of aggression – the resort to war in violation of the UN Charter3 – in the spotlight.

Rurality As An Intersecting Axis Of Inequality In The Work Of The U.N. Treaty Bodies, Amanda Lyons

Washington and Lee Law Review

Rurality intersects with other identities, power dynamics, and structural inequalities—including those related to gender, race, disability, and age—to create unique patterns of human rights deprivations, violations, and challenges in rural spaces. Therefore, accurately assessing human rights and duties in rural spaces requires attention to the dynamics of rurality in a particular context, the unique nature of diverse rural identities and livelihoods, the systemic forces operating in and on those spaces, and the intersections with other forms of structural discrimination and inequality.

Although much of the work of the U.N. treaty bodies has in fact addressed human rights situations in rural …

Memoria, Verdad Y Justicia: Situacion Y Perspectivas Etudes: Premiere Partie: Justice Transitionnelle Et Reconciliation, Juan Mendez

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

La evolucion de los principios de justicia transicional en el Derecho Internacional de los Derechos Humanos debe verse con un enfoque juridico que ponga de manifiesto la frondosa jurisprudencia que se ha poducido en respuesta a las trabas y obstAculos en diversos paises para la realizacibn de la justicia. Esto es especialmente cierto en America Latina, donde el sistenma interamericano de proteccion ha establecido con firmeza varias de estas obLigaciones internacionales del Estado. Pern no se trata de reglas aplicables solamente en el mbito interamericano, sino que se irproducen de diversas formas en otros sistemas regionales y tambidn en la …

Epidemics And International Law: The Need For International Regulation, Claudio Grossman

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

This article presents comments by the author made to open the Miami Law Review conference on Epidemics1 and International Law.2 Its main purpose is to refer to the impact of COVID-19 on different norms and legal regimes, focusing mainly on the 2005 International Health Regulations (IHR), addressing areas of reform as well as the interactions of those norms with international human rights law. This will include the proposals of change for the 2005 IHR, designed to better protect vulnerable peoples in future global health crises. Some of the ideas presented in this contribution are included in a proposal that I …

Transnational Migrant Deterrence, Anita Sinha

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

The governance of global migration increasingly relies on what critical migration scholarship refers to as externalized control. Externalization encompasses limiting human mobility through the imposition of migration control measures by transit states, as well as by states that are geographically proximate to destination states. Destination states are at a minimum complicit in the creation and operation of these externalized migration control systems. To capture this phenomenon, this Article offers a reconceptualization of externalization as transnational migration deterrence. The objective ofthis nomenclature is to provide a framework that highlights the role of destination states, to build a lexicon of accountability for …

Louis Henkin Memorial Lecture University Of Miami Law School, Juan Mendez

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

I am deeply honored to be invited to deliver this year's version of a lecture series honoring Professor Louis Henkin whose contributions to the development of international law-and very specifically to international human rights law - are and very long will continue to be remembered. I am also a bit overwhelmed as I notice that the organizers have put me in the company of wonderful colleagues and masters of this field, several of them my friends and persons whose work I admire. It is also especially gratifying for me to have the occasion of renewing contact with the Henkin family …