Hezbollah Violates Resolution 1701

Posted on July 28, 2009 by David McGrogan

In past weeks various UN spokespeople have been issuing rare condemnations of Hezbollah’s violations of Resolution 1701. The Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Michael Williams, has said that there were “clearly” violations of the resolution on the part of the organisation; meanwhile Haaretz reports on Alain Le Roy, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, accusing Hezbollah of maintaining [...]

Filed under: International Humanitarian Law, Middle East Crisis, Peacekeeping, Public International Law, United Nations | Leave a Comment »

Human Rights Watch Under Fire

Posted on July 17, 2009 by David McGrogan

There has been some controversy this week over Human Rights Watch and both its reporting on Israel and its fundraising efforts more generally. The story originated with David Bernstein writing in the Wall Street Journal, but Jeffrey Goldberg‘s article is the most reasonable and informative, and also contains a detailed exchange of emails between Goldberg [...]

Filed under: Human Rights, Middle East Crisis, Non Governmental Organizations, Public International Law | 3 Comments »

More Join the ‘Racism’ Conference Boycott

Posted on April 19, 2009 by David McGrogan

[See here and here for further reading.] The movement to boycott the ‘Durban II’ Review Conference on racism appears to be gathering pace. Not only have the US, Israel, Canada and Italy decided not to attend, but now Sweden, The Netherlands and Australia have joined them. According to Stephen Smith, Australia’s Foreign Minister: “The 2001 [...]

Filed under: Human Rights, Public International Law, United Nations | 9 Comments »

US to Engage with the Human Rights Council

Posted on April 2, 2009 by David McGrogan

The new administration in the White House has decided to reverse one of the more controversial of George W. Bush’s policies: disengagement with the Human Rights Council. At the time of the HRC’s creation, the election of countries such as China, Cuba and Saudi Arabia to council seats was seen as a continuation of the [...]

Filed under: Human Rights, Middle East Crisis, Public International Law, United Nations | Leave a Comment »

Thoughts on the Human Rights Council’s 10th Session

Posted on March 26, 2009 by David McGrogan

The UN Human Rights Council’s 10th Regular Session is currently coming to a close. As usual, the various reports available make for fascinating and frustrating reading, not least because of the design of the OCHR’s website, which could charitably be described as eccentric. The major point of interest was the report of Richard Falk, the [...]

Filed under: Human Rights, Middle East Crisis, Public International Law, United Nations | 2 Comments »

Another Racist Anti-Racist Conference?

Posted on March 6, 2009 by David McGrogan

In April this year the Human Rights Council will hold a ‘Durban Review’ conference in Geneva, in order to “evaluate progress towards the goals set” at the 2001 World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR). The 2001 meeting ended in confusion when the Israeli and US delegations walked out, and its [...]

Filed under: Human Rights, Public International Law, United Nations | 7 Comments »

‘Buy American’ and the WTO

Posted on February 17, 2009 by David McGrogan

There are growing signs of discontent with the ‘Buy American’ clause in the USA’s financial stimulus bill – a stipulation that “any public building or public works project funded by the new stimulus package use only iron, steel and other manufactured goods produced in the United States.” It now appears that this part of the [...]

Filed under: Public International Law, World Trade Organization | Leave a Comment »

Justice for Another of Africa’s Most Wanted?

Posted on February 9, 2009 by David McGrogan

In recent years we have begun to see some of Africa’s most notorious warlords being brought to trial – notably Charles Taylor and Thomas Lubanga. It now also appears that there is at least some chance one of the continent’s bloodiest tyrants – Mengistu Haile Mariam – will finally face justice. As Chairman of the [...]

Filed under: Public International Law | Leave a Comment »

White Phosphorous: A Grey Area?

Posted on February 5, 2009 by David McGrogan

White phosphorous has become well-known in recent years, mainly as a result of the controversy surrounding its use during the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, and the recent conflicts between Israel and Hizbollah and Hamas. It is primarily a smokescreen-producing agent, used to conceal troop movements, and is also a means of illuminating the [...]

Filed under: International Humanitarian Law, Middle East Crisis, Non Governmental Organizations, Public International Law | 9 Comments »

Whither now, Additional Protocol I?

Posted on January 31, 2009 by David McGrogan

Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions was adopted in 1977 to ‘remedy shortcomings‘ in the original conventions of 1949. It contains a more detailed set of standards in all areas of international armed conflict, and expands the definition of ‘international armed conflict’ to include wars of national liberation (Art. 1.4.). (Non-international armed conflicts are [...]

Filed under: Human Rights, International Humanitarian Law, Law of Treaties, Middle East Crisis, Public International Law | 7 Comments »

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