Tag Archive for 'Syria'
February 18th, 2013 by Raphaelle Rafin
In its latest report released today, the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Republic (‘the Commission’) depicts an increasing violence with both parties to the conflict which have become “reckless with human life” nearly two years after the hostilities started. The Commission found that both pro- and anti-government forces have violated [...]
January 23rd, 2013 by Julien Maton
by the Hague Initiative for Law and Armed Conflict (HILAC) Date: Tuesday 29 January 2013, at 7pm Venue: T.M.C. Asser Instituut, R.J. Schimmelpennincklaan 20-22, The Hague, The Netherlands Speaker: Professor Yoram Dinstein - Professor Emeritus, Tel Aviv University With civil wars raging in Syria, Mali and other places around the world, Professor Yoram Dinstein will address the rules applicable [...]
January 21st, 2013 by Raphaelle Rafin
by David Tolbert* – President of the International Centre for Transitional Justice Recent proposals on using transitional justice as a means of stabilising Syria in the aftermath of the eventual fall of the Assad regime – including by providing incentives for loyalists to give up a possible “fight to the death” in Damascus – are [...]
January 14th, 2013 by Julien Maton
This Monday, Switzerland sent a letter on behalf of fifty-seven states to ask the UN Security Council to refer the Syria conflict to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for a war crimes investigation. The signatories included all European Union member states, with the notable exception of Sweden. Australia, New Zealand, Japan and a number of [...]
January 13th, 2013 by Ravipal Bains
An analysis conducted by the United Nations (UN) Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has found that over 60,000 people have been killed in fighting in Syria between March 2011 and November 2012. The in-depth report prepared after five months of research took into account data from seven different sources including information [...]
December 24th, 2012 by Julien Maton
by Amal Alamuddin* - iLawyer and former adviser to Kofi Annan on Syria The UN Security Council (UNSC) kick-started international criminal justice in the 1990s by creating courts to try those suspected of international crimes in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. When the International Criminal Court (ICC) opened its doors in 2002, it became the world’s first [...]
September 25th, 2012 by Admas Habteslasie
A recent report on the worsening human rights situation in Syria has reignited debate on the referral of Syria to the International Criminal Court. The report, produced by the Human Rights Council-mandated Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, was presented last week at the twenty-first session of the Council in Geneva. According to the [...]
June 16th, 2012 by Anna Bonini
Gen. Robert Mood, head of the UN observers deployed in Syria, announced today that the mission’s patrolling and monitoring activities have been suspended due to escalating violence in the country, which poses a significant risk to the observers and prevents them from carrying out their mandate. The suspension is ‘until further notice’ and will be [...]
April 28th, 2012 by Shannon Torrens
On 9 April Human Rights Watch released the report “In Cold Blood: Summary Executions by Syrian Forces and Pro-Government Militias,” documenting more than a dozen incidents involving at least 101 victims of this category of crimes since late 2011, a large number of which took place in March 2012. Human Rights Watch documented the involvement [...]
April 23rd, 2012 by Shannon Torrens
On 14 April in New York, the United Nations Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 2042, agreeing to deploy a team of up to thirty UN monitors to Syria in order to oversee the fragile ceasefire between the Syrian government and oppositional forces. A team of six UN monitors arrived in Damascus the following day. The first UN Security [...]
April 5th, 2012 by Anna Bonini
In an Op-Ed contribution published in the New York times, Aryeh Neier comments on the Syrian crisis. In particular he explores the possibility of a war crimes tribunal run by the Arab League to hold accountable the Syrian government and its henchmen. Such a court should also, however, have jurisdiction over crimes committed by rebels. [...]
April 2nd, 2012 by Julien Maton
Syria has agreed to a 10 April deadline to begin implementing a six-point peace plan, proposed by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan. On Sunday, a group of 83 countries had already warned President Assad he had little time to comply with Mr Annan’s plan. The plan urges the government forces and the armed rebels to immediately [...]
April 1st, 2012 by Dina Mahmoud
by the Frontline Club Date: 2 April 2012, 7:00PM – 9:00PM Address: 13 Norfolk Place, London, W2 1QJ The movie Syria, the Assads’ Twilight tells the story of the Assad regime, revealing how Bashar, like his father, was unable to tolerate dissent. Filmed in 2011, it poses the question of whether, in the age of social media, Bashar can resist the [...]
March 23rd, 2012 by Anna Bonini
The UN Security Council issued a statement giving full support to the efforts of the Joint Special Envoy for the United Nations and the Arab League to solve the critical situation in Syria. The statement came after several weeks of impasse within the Council, due largely to the reluctance of China and Russia to take [...]
March 17th, 2012 by Anna Bonini
The Guardian published over 3,000 e-mails allegedly downloaded from private accounts belonging to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and to his wife Asma. The messages cover a period of several months ending on 7 February 2012, when the hacking of the accounts was reportedly discovered. The emails appear to show that Assad received advice from Iran [...]
March 10th, 2012 by Anna Bonini
According to Jonathan Tepperman, managing editor of Foreign Affairs magazine, Western Powers should consider a full-scale military intervention in Syria. Half-measures such as arming the rebels or setting up opposition safe havens on Syria’s borders, he argues, may seem attractive in the short term but risk “turning a small local conflict into a far messier [...]
March 1st, 2012 by Dina Mahmoud
By decree number 94 of 2012, the Syrian President, Bashar Al-Asaad, has officially ordered the promulgation of the new Syrian constitution in the country’s Official Gazette. The constitution, which was approved by a referendum held on 26 February, entered into force on 27 February. Share this:
