insert_link World Six staff members of the United Nations killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres says what is happening in Gaza is unacceptable, and dramatic violations of international humanitarian law need to stop immediately. An Israeli airstrike on a central Gaza school being used as a shelter for displaced Palestinians killed 18 people. Among those killed were six staff members of the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA. The school was sheltering around 12-thousand displaced people, mainly women and children. todaySeptember 12, 2024 14
insert_link World UN calls for urgent end to Gaza conflict The United Nations Human Rights says ending the war in Gaza and averting a full-blown regional conflict is an absolute and urgent priority. The latest attack in Gaza has resulted in the deaths of at least 40 people after Israel struck a designated humanitarian zone. UN commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, says states cannot accept blatant disregard for international law. Reuters reports that todaySeptember 10, 2024 28
insert_link Africa Gender apartheid: oppression of women should be made a crime against humanity – feminist academic explains why By Penelope Andrews, New York Law School Crimes against humanity are occurring with impunity around the globe; from Myanmar to Sudan, Ukraine and elsewhere. And yet, unlike international treaties for the crimes of genocide, torture, apartheid and forced disappearances, there isn’t a treaty specific to crimes against humanity. That lack is now being remedied. The International Law Commission, a UN expert body, has submitted […] todayJuly 16, 2024 12
insert_link Africa Gambia MPs uphold ban on female genital mutilation Gambian lawmakers voted this afternoon to uphold a 2015 ban on female genital mutilation, rejecting a controversial bill seeking to overturn the law after months of heated debate and international pressure. Legislators killed the bill by voting against all the proposed amendments to the 2015 text that would have decriminalised the practice. Rights groups and the United Nations had urged MPs to reject the bill, saying it […] todayJuly 15, 2024 18
insert_link Africa UK-Rwanda migrant deal challenges international protection law By Cristiano d'Orsi, University of Johannesburg In late April 2024 the British parliament passed a law – the Safety of Rwanda Act – enabling it to transport migrants arriving in the UK to Rwanda. When the legislation was approved by parliament, there were 52,000 asylum seekers who could potentially be sent to Rwanda. The law has been condemned by a range of UN actors, human rights […] todayMay 22, 2024 14
insert_link Africa Rwanda’s role in eastern DRC conflict: why international law is failing to end the fighting By Kerstin Bree Carlson, Roskilde University The power of international law lies in its potential to offer alternatives to force and violence. The ideal is that states submit their grievances to a court rather than duke them out on a battlefield, or carry them out against civilians. As concerns armed violence, there are two international courts that countries can engage. The first is the International […] todayMay 20, 2024 21
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 28
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 35
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 13