International Humanitarian Law Commons^™

Is Affording Undocumented Immigrants Health Coverage A Radical Proposal?, Lawrence O. Gostin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

During the Democratic presidential debate on July 31, all 10 candidates raised their hands when asked if they would provide health insurance to undocumented immigrants. Among all Democratic ideas for health reform, this is least popular. A recent poll found that only 38% of respondents approve. The idea drew extensive criticism, which is understandable: Why should the United States provide health coverage for people who don’t have a legal right to be here? Extending coverage could be seen as rewarding individuals who have violated the law.

There are, however, strong reasons to afford health coverage for this population: modest economic …

Ending Pandemics: Us Foreign Policy To Mitigate Today’S Major Killers, Tomorrow’S Outbreaks, And The Health Impacts Of Climate Change, Matthew M. Kavanagh, Harsha Thirumurthy, Rebecca Katz, Kristie L. Ebi, Chris Beyrer, Jamila Headley, Charles B. Holmes, Chris Collins, Lawrence O. Gostin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Every U.S. President in recent decades has had to respond to at least one pandemic disease. Political leadership has proven decisive. In the coming years, U.S. foreign policy will face at least three inter-related issues: today’s major pandemics of AIDS, TB, and Malaria; future outbreaks with the potential to become pandemics; and rising risk from infectious diseases associated with climate change. A review of epidemiologic data shows global progress on each issue is threatened. A coordinated U.S. effort, across agencies and engaged with national and multilateral partners, could save lives and address significant foreign policy interests. Such an effort could …

The Promise And Challenge Of Humanitarian Protection In The United States: Making Temporary Protected Status Work As A Safe Haven, Andrew I. Schoenholtz

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

The humanitarian program Congress created in 1990 to allow war refugees and those affected by significant natural disasters to live and work legally in the United States has only partially achieved its goals. More than 400,000 individuals have received temporary protected status (TPS). In many cases, the crisis ended, along with temporary protection. However, in about half of the designated nationalities—including the largest groups—conflict and instability continued, making this humanitarian protection program anything but temporary. Unfortunately, Congress did not provide the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with the tools it needed to address such long-term crises. That was purposeful—Congress worried …

Checking A Box Or Creating Change? Examining The Overall State Of Gender Mainstreaming In Humanitarian Action, Jenna Thoretz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Humanitarian organizations provide aid and assistance to millions of individuals impacted by natural disasters and armed conflict every day. However, not all individuals are equally impacted by humanitarian crises. Since the 1995 Beijing Conference on Women introduced the term ‘gender mainstreaming’, humanitarian organizations have recognized and taken steps to address gender specific needs in crisis situations.

While there is an abundance of research concerning these gender specific needs, there is little research on the overall state of gender mainstreaming in humanitarian policy. This paper seeks to fill this gap by examining gender mainstreaming in the humanitarian community through some of …

Lived Experiences Of Temporary Permanence: The Syrian Perspective On Humanitarian Response And ‘Guest Status’ In Jordan, Leila A. Ismaio

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As the conflict in Syria has evolved into a long-term crisis, Syrian refugees have found themselves in a state of both temporality and permanence, frequently cited as being ‘stuck’. Syrians in Jordan, particularly, have fallen victim to this status, frequently labeled as ‘guests’, with corresponding humanitarian aid also reflecting this temporality. No studies have yet explored Syrian refugees perceptions and experiences with ‘guest’ status and its relationship with humanitarian assistance. The purpose of this study is to explore Syrian perception of ‘guest’ status and current humanitarian efforts in Jordan and see how this demonstrates and challenges the dichotomy present in …

Population Law And Policy: From Control And Contraception To Equity And Equality, Victoria Mather

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract forthcoming

Flor Freire V. Ecuador, Raymond Chavez

Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review

This case is about the discharge from duty of a Second Lieutenant of the Ecuadorian army who had been accused of engaging in homosexual conduct. The Court found violation of several articles of the American Convention. The violation of the prohibition of discrimination is the most significant one.

The Role Of Local Communities In Preventing And Countering Violent Extremism (P/Cve) In Jordan, Anna Fraher Klingensmith

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Bordering Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Israel/Palestine, with Lebanon not too far away, Jordan’s location makes it at high risk for violent extremism. Although Jordan is considered one of the safest countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, the country is known for having one of the highest numbers of foreign fighters in the world, and for being the homeland of the father of ISIS (Abu Musab al-Zarqawi). Also worrisome is the increasing number of desperate people turning to extremist ideologies due to the country’s economic crisis and lack of opportunities for political engagement. Jordan could be …

Logistic And Structural Considerations For The Use Of Psychological First Aid In Humanitarian Emergencies, Taylor Johnson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Following the IASC recommendations for implementation of psychological first aid (PFA) in 2007, providing PFA in humanitarian emergencies as a method of psychosocial support has become one of the standard interventions in the wake of crises. However, the impact of PFA on future mental health outcomes remains largely unstudied and many structural and logistic factors (e.g. training of PFA providers, reviewing evidence to inform practice, and policy considerations) must be managed in order to ensure appropriate, high-quality PFA in humanitarian emergencies. This research aims to synthesize both primary interview data and the existing literature surrounding PFA in humanitarian emergencies to …

Not-So-Decriminalized: Consequences Of Intersectional Identity For Migrant Sex Workers In Switzerland, Teagan Langseth-Depaolis

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Sex work in Switzerland, which was decriminalized long ago, has been regarded as one of the most liberal systems of sex work in the world. However, this reputation is contested when factoring in the interaction between immigration and sex work policies. Migrant sex workers in Switzerland are put at a precarious intersection of decriminalized sex industry and restrictive migration policy and attitudes, and are not addressed or protected from violations of the law or violations of their human rights. Using databases containing Swiss legislation, I will critically examine the intersectional effects of migration policy and the treatment of migrants on …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Can We Starve The Civilians? Exploring The Dichotomy Between The Traditional Law Of Maritime Blockade And Humanitarian Initiatives, Phillip J. Drew

International Law Studies

The contemporary practice of maritime blockade can trace its origins to the Dutch Placaat of 1564, under which the Dutch Navy enforced the closure of Spanish ports to maritime traffic, both inbound and outbound. Although originally designed to stop all military reinforcements from reaching an area, in the ensuing 450 years, blockade has developed into a method of warfare whose effects are primarily economic. As a result of the urbanization of much of the world’s population over the past 200 years, many States have become heavily reliant on imported foodstuffs and commodities, most of which moves by sea. When those …

Peace In The Home, Peace In The Nation: Conceptions Of Justice For Rural Women Of Northern Uganda, Jennifer Moore

Faculty Scholarship

UNM International Studies Institute Fall Lecture Series 2019 "Peacemaking In Africa"

Mediating Suffering: Buddhist Detachment And Tantric Responsibility In Michael Ondaatje’S Anil’S Ghost, Justin M. Hewitson

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In “Mediating Suffering: Buddhist Detachment and Tantric Responsibility in Michael Ondaatje’s Anil’s Ghost,” Justin Hewitson argues that the global mediation of suffering following human rights abuses creates the offender-victim binary. The way in which moral judgments drive urgent peacemaking is seldom connected to long-term victimhood narratives. This psychology can exacerbate cyclical patterns of anger, exploitation, and violence by deferring responsibility. Ondaatje’s controversial novel, Anil’s Ghost, which reflects these charged accusations, refuses to settle blame on any side of the Sri Lankan conflict; instead, it offers the troubling recognition that offenders, victims, and mediators are all causal agents. Hewitson …

Fixing The Business Of Food: The Food Industry And The Sdg Challenge, Barilla Center For Food And Nutrition, Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Columbia Center On Sustainable Investment, Sanda Chiara Lab

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

In collaboration with the Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and the Santa Chiara Lab of the University of Siena, CCSI presented its first report on Fixing the Business of Food.

The document, part of a two-year effort, highlights the sustainable development challenge faced by the food industry. By proposing a Four Dimension framework, the report asks four overarching questions for companies in the food sector to address alignment with the SDGs:

1. Does the company contribute to healthy and sustainable dietary patterns through its products and strategy?
2. Are the company’s production processes economically, socially, …

The Dynamism Of Treaties, Yanbai Andrea Wang

Maryland Law Review

How do treaties change over time? This Article joins a growing body of scholarship focusing not on formal change mechanisms but instead on informal change arising from a treaty’s implementation in practice. Informal implementation is often murky, poorly documented, and may be indistinguishable from noncompliance. Yet it is significant both doctrinally under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties—a set of rules for the formation and operation of treaties—and in its own right, when it does not meet the requirements to be doctrinally relevant. Based on a deep dive into the history of one of the oldest areas of …

Armed Groups And The Protection Of Health Care, Ezequiel Heffes

International Law Studies

That armed groups have been responsible for attacks against health care personnel and for violating the protection of health care is not news. This is one of the greatest humanitarian challenges of contemporary armed conflict. Armed groups, however, have also attempted to evacuate and treat wounded enemy fighters and civilians and, in certain contexts, they have even provided health care services for the civilian population living in the territories under their control. This article describes some of the key issues related to the variation of armed groups’ behaviors when dealing with the protection of health care, inquiring into why some …

It's Complicated: The Challenge Of Prosecuting Tncs For Criminal Activity Under International Law, Jena Martin

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

This essay aims to tackle an increasingly thorny and relevant issue: what do you do if a Transnational Corporation (TNC) commits a crime? The question raises a number of challenges, both philosophically and practically. First, what does it mean to prosecute an organization? Although there are some limited examples (the United States’ prosecution of accounting firm Arthur Andersen being among the most note-worthy), we have relatively little precedence regarding what this would entail; how exactly do you put a corporation on trial? Second, practically speaking, where do you hold the trial? This challenge is magnified by the fact that, by …

Draft Text Providing For Transparency And Prohibiting Certain Forms Of Third-Party Funding In Investor–State Dispute Settlement, Brooke Güven, Lise Johnson, Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder, Lorenzo Cotula, Jane Kelsey

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) is currently working on how to reform international investment treaties, focusing in particular on those treaties’ provisions enabling investors to sue governments in international arbitration. As an observer organization in this process, CCSI has emphasized that in the context of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) reform, it is important to first consider what it is that investment treaties aim to achieve, and only then to consider what form(s) of dispute settlement will best advance those objectives. This means not only looking at reform of the existing ISDS mechanism, but also alternatives to …

Third-Party Rights In Investor-State Dispute Settlement: Options For Reform, Jesse Coleman, Lise Johnson, Brooke Güven, Lorenzo Cotula, Thierry Berger

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) is currently working on how to reform international investment treaties, focusing in particular on those treaties’ provisions enabling investors to sue governments in international arbitration. As an observer organization in this process, CCSI has emphasized that in the context of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) reform, it is important to first consider what it is that investment treaties aim to achieve, and only then to consider what form(s) of dispute settlement will best advance those objectives. This means not only looking at reform of the existing ISDS mechanism, but also alternatives to …