insert_link World International Court of Justice holds hearings over Rafah offensive The International Court of Justice is holding a hearing over South Africa's demands that Israel halt its offensive in Rafah. Late last year Pretoria brought a case against Israel to the UN's top court accusing it of violating the genocide convention. Allegations Israel has denied. William Denselow reports from The Hague in the Netherlands where the ICJ is located. todayMay 16, 2024 6
insert_link Science & Technology Elon Musk vs Australia: global content take-down orders can harm the internet if adopted widely By Dan Jerker B. Svantesson, Bond University Do Australian courts have the right to decide what foreign citizens, located overseas, view online on a foreign-owned platform? Anyone inclined to answer “yes” to this question should perhaps also ask themselves whether they are equally happy for courts in China, Russia and Iran to determine what Australians can see and post online in Australia. This is the problem with […] todayApril 25, 2024 11
World Are embassies off-limits? Ecuadorian and Israeli actions suggest otherwise − and that sets a dangerous diplomatic precedent Ecuadorian special forces break into the Mexican Embassy in Quito. Alberto Suarez/API/AFP via Getty Images) Jorge Heine, Boston University It has long been held that embassies should be treated as “off-limits” to other nations. Yet in a single week, two governments – both long-established democracies – stand accused of violating, in different ways, the laws surrounding foreign diplomatic missions. First, on April 1, 2024, Iran’s embassy in Damascus was bombed, […] todayApril 10, 2024 7
insert_link World Starvation is a weapon of war: Gazans are paying the price By Ateqah Khaki, The Conversation; Husein Haveliwala, The Conversation, and Vinita Srivastava, The Conversation On Monday, the European Union’s foreign policy chief accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war and provoking famine in Gaza. Israel denies the allegations, which are some of the strongest words we have heard from a western power about the situation in Gaza since October. The EU statement comes on the heels […] todayApril 2, 2024 14
insert_link World Malta Urges the ICC to Hurry Up Its War Crimes Probes in Palestine Ambassador Vanessa Frazier of Malta detailed to the press her country’s plans presiding over the Security Council in April 2024. Frazier is one of five women envoys in the Council, and she successfully led a resolution calling for a pause in fighting in Gaza in November by focusing on the plight of children. “Children are affected more in Gaza, and as women, it affects us too,” she said in […] todayApril 2, 2024 3
insert_link South Africa South Africans fighting for Israel in Gaza: what does the law say? By Michelle Nel, Stellenbosch University South Africa’s foreign minister, Naledi Pandor, said the country’s citizens fighting for the Israel Defence Forces in Gaza faced prosecution upon their return. This statement followed tension between South Africa and Israel amid the “humanitarian catastrophe” resulting from Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. There is a history of South African citizens of Jewish descent fighting for Israel, but the number fighting […] todayMarch 26, 2024 12
World Palestine Never Had a Chance for Statehood, Legally Speaking, an Expert Argues Ardi Imseis, a legal scholar and former United Nations expert, argues in a new book that the UN’s long history of managing the international legal status of Palestine has often reinforced its subjugation. Here, the territory’s flag in a battle between Palestine and Israel. WWW.STORYBOARDTHAT.COM By Darsen Hover Did Palestine ever have a chance to gain its full rights as a state? In his new book, “The United […] todayMarch 19, 2024 5
insert_link Opinion Pieces UN Rights Experts Make False Promises About Prostitution The essayist, an expert in human trafficking, writes that a guidance paper produced by a UN human rights group on eliminating discrimination against “sex workers” actually “advocates for policies that will endanger women and girls.” TONY WEBSTER/CREATIVE COMMONOpinion By Taina Bien-Aimé The United Nations working group on discrimination against women and girls published a paper last year that not only fails to address the widespread human rights violations caused by prostitution […] todayMarch 14, 2024 7
World The UN Security Council Is Struggling ‘Day by Day,’ Japan Says Secretary-General António Guterres, left, and Kazuyuki Yamazaki, permanent representative of Japan and president of the Security Council for March, before a recent meeting on Sudan and South Sudan. Only three months in the UN post, Yamakazi leads the Council on a range of crises this month, from the wars in Gaza and Ukraine to conflicts in parts of Africa, as Japan also highlights its own two signature debates: building peace […] todayMarch 13, 2024 3
Paying it forward: Kenyan coastal doctor Bashrahil Mohammed Mafudh has made it his life’s work to care for the most vulnerable in his community, at no cost.
