International Law Blog Postings

Attorneys and law students from three continents gathered in Washington, D.C. for the film screening of "State of Fear: The Truth About Terrorism," the award-wining human rights documentary about Peru's struggle with terrorism 1980-2000. The film traces the rise of the Maoist Shining Path guerilla movement (Sendero Luminoso) in the 1980s under the leadership of Abimael Guzmán and the ensuing two decades of conflict that resulted in 70,000 deaths and disappearances. A major focus of the film is the period of "fear" under former President Fujimori (1990-2000) after the government arrested the top eight rebel leaders in an apartment in Lima in 1992. The film asserts that the arrests effectively suppressed the violent revolution. Nevertheless, Fujimori persisted to transform delusory internal threats to national security into justifications to disregard democracy and to trample human rights. Riding on a political wave of popularity, Fujimori suspended the constitution, dissolved the parliament, and enacted authoritarian anti-terrorism laws. The film's producer, Paco de Onís, led an engaging discussion on how societies struggle to maintain democracy, defend human rights, and preserve justice in a world engaged in a "global war on terrorism." Continue Reading

Fourteen years after a secret military tribunal sentenced Maoist Shining Path leader Abimael Guzmán to life imprisonment in October 1992, a Peruvian civil court on Friday handed down the same life sentence. Guzmán's year-long retrial resulted from a 60-page ruling by the Peruvian Constitutional Court in 2003 that declared secret military tribunals unconstitutional and in violation of international human rights standards. Guzmán's lawyer, Manuel Fajardo, unsuccessfully argued that Guzmán should be granted amnesty or the charges dropped based on due process violations. Fajardo also argued that the charge of terrorism should be lessened to rebellion. Guzmán can appeal the guilty verdict in national courts and, if unsuccessful, to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. In 2003, the Peruvian Truth Commission attributed 54 percent of the estimated 70,000 deaths and disappearances between 1980 and 2000 to the Shining Path rebel movement. Continue Reading

Today, human rights activists will meet with representatives on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. to bring attention to the Juba peace talks between the Ugandan government and the insurgent Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels. The activists seek additional humanitarian aid and high-level U.S. support for the peace talks, which are being mediated by the government of Southern Sudan. Peace negotiator Betty Bigombe considers the United States' political involvement as vital to maintaining the ceasefire and to ensuring continued progress of the peace talks. Uganda President Yoweri Museveni has warned that "this is the last chance for these terrorists" because his administration will not negotiate if these talks fail. Complicating the negotiations, four rebel leaders are unable to attend the talks in person for fear of arrests for war crimes indictments issued by the International Criminal Court at The Hague. The Ugandan crisis highlights the tension between the mandate of the ICC to prosecute egregious war crimes and the pragmatic need by governments to grant amnesty in order to achieve peace. One proposed solution would delay the imposition of the retributive approach by the ICC until after domestic approaches to conflict resolution are exhausted. The United States, a vocal critic of the ICC, may support this solution. However, will the broader international community be willing to accept a solution that would grant broad amnesty to human rights violators and that potentially could weaken the authority of the ICC? Continue Reading

Yesterday, the Iraq Council of Representatives voted 127-0 (148 absent) in favor of reexamining the constitution, an important and symbolic step towards Jonathan Morrow's prediction of an "inevitably federal Iraq." The vote comes after a crucial constitutional compromise on Sunday. In closed-door negotiations among the major political parties, the Sunni Arabs, who previously opposed federalism because of fears of a partitioned society and lack of access to petroleum wealth, agreed to support legislation implementing federalism under Article 118 in exchange for the ability to craft a constitutional amendment under Article 142. The Sunni Arab's goal is to constrain constitutionally the extent of regional autonomy under federalism and thereby reduce the risks of regional self-rule, regional economic disparities, and social fragmentation in Iraq's ethnically heterogeneous society. In the next step, the Iraqi parliament today will name 27 members to a Constitutional Amendment Committee and will begin debate on the proposed Federalism Bill. Continue Reading

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan today authorized the creation of a special UN political mission in Nepal to advance reconciliation, support a transitional government, and assist with elections. The mission consists of a small group of multi-disciplinary civilian advisors led by Ian Martin, in his new role as special envoy. Martin returns on Monday to Nepal from UN Headquarters in New York. It's unclear what the appointment means for his current role as the head of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Nepal. The mission is being created in response to a joint request by Nepal's government and the insurgent Maoist rebels for UN assistance. At first glance, the mission's limited staffing and lack of enforcement authority may seem an insufficient response, but the mission will have importance influence at a crucial juncture for Nepal's struggle for democratic self-determination. Continue Reading

Jiang Zuojun, China's Vice Minister of Health, today denounced the recent mass dog-destruction campaigns as unnecessary. He recommended that local authorities should increase rabies vaccinations as the primary control strategy. While his advice is consistent with the latest recommendations from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the World Health Organization (WHO), he disappointedly failed to recognize rabies as a public health priority. At a press conference this morning, Jiang stated that the recent rabies fatalities are "normal" and that China has not experienced an increase in the number of rabies' incidences or deaths. However, according to data from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention within China's Ministry of Health, rabies incidences during the first six months of 2006 increased 36% compared to the same time period in 2005. Moreover, the Center reported 198 deaths from rabies in June 2006, surpassing the number of deaths from tuberculosis to make rabies the country's leading epidemic killer that month. Given the desire and need by local authorities to protect public health against a growing threat, the Ministry of Health should be working with international agencies to develop a integrated rabies control strategy and to communicate the latest standards and guidelines to local authorities. Continue Reading

In a significant breakthrough, Nepal's government and the Maoist rebels today submitted a five-point letter to the United Nations requesting assistance with the ceasefire and the elections. The two sides specifically asked for a UN peace operation to monitor human rights, the ceasefire code of conduct, arms management of the rebels, the confinement of the army to its barracks, and the constituent assembly elections. The consensus letter comes a day after the rebel negotiators indicated that the peace talks were on the verge of collapse. The parties are to be commended for taking the courageous step to work with U.N. peace negotiators, the OHCHR, international conflict experts, and retired military strategists to end the decade-long insurgency through democratic means. Now, the world needs to assist Nepal with its transition to a post-conflict society. The UN can play a critical role in building a stable and enduring peace in Nepal by providing teams to implement security protocols during the interim government, to ensure inclusive participation of women, to monitor and verify election results, and to oversee the reconciliation process. Continue Reading

In response to three deaths in April from rabies and 360 reported dog bites this year, local officials in Yunnan Province, China, ordered the extermination of all dogs regardless of rabies vaccination status, with the exception of military and police canines. Since the start of the campaign on 25 July 2005, a total of 54,429 dogs in Mouding County have been killed by clubbing, hanging, electrocution, or drugs, according to the Shanghai Daily. On Thursday, officials in Shandong Province announced that they soon will kill all dogs within five kilometers of the villages where sixteen people have died from rabies in 2006. The dog-culling programs do not violate Chinese law or international laws because those laws only protect endangered species. The cullings do defy the conclusion by the World Health Organization in June 2005 that dog destruction efforts are ineffective and that the elimination of rabies requires mass vaccination programs. To control the threat to human health by rabies, China is encouraged to pursue a vaccination campaign in accordance with international standards and guidelines and to seek the assistance of international agencies, such as the OIE and WHO, to develop a long-term, integrated strategy. Continue Reading

As part of the UNA-USA Annual Meeting on 10 June 2006, two nuclear weapons experts with differing views revealed their crystal ball predictions for the future of nuclear weapons and their recommendations to increase the utility and legitimacy of the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The session featured Leonard Spector, Deputy Director of the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, and Randy Rydell, Senior Fellow at the Arms Control Association. After presentations by each speaker, Ambassador Jonathan Dean moderated an open discussion. Continue Reading

In an address delivered in New York on June 6, United Nations Deputy Secretary General Mark Malloch Brown critiqued U.S. policy towards the UN in his speech "Power and Super-Power: Global Leadership in the Twenty-First Century." The Deputy Secretary challenged the United States to sustain "inside-the-tent diplomacy at the UN" and to drop its attitude of "take it or leave it," as well its "red-line demands thrown in without debate and engagement." The next day, as if on cue, the United Nations Association of the United States of America commenced its annual meeting in Washington, D.C. First on the agenda, members met with elected officials on Capitol Hill to discuss US-UN relations, voting records, and proposed legislation to withhold mandatory contributions to the UN. Next, members convened for three days of issue sessions. Experts, such as Dr. Joxel Garcia, Mark Lagon, Ambassador William H. Luers, Dr. Johanna Mendelson, and Ruth Wedgwood, spoke on the challenges facing the UN and the world, including UN reform, global health, the future of nuclear weapons, and international law. Continue Reading

The United States National Commission for UNESCO held its two-day annual conference for commissioners from 1-2 June 2006 in Washington, D.C. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The purpose of the meeting was for the commissioners to develop recommendations on issues related to education, science, communications, and culture for consideration as U.S. policy towards UNESCO by the U.S. Department of State. The U.S. Representative to UNESCO and officials from the U.S. Department of State outlined current priorities and policies, as well as the risks associated with the adoption of relatively new treaties, such as the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. Continue Reading

Today, 20 June 2006, marks the sixth annual commemoration of World Refugee Day. This year's theme is "Keeping the Flame of Hope Alive" for 20.8 million people who hold tenuously to a hope for peace and a better future. Since last year, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that an additional two million became asylum seekers and refugees, most of them women and children. For them, home is a place where they cannot return - at least not today. Equally, this day honors the staff and volunteers who provide services, aid, and comfort to the world's refugees and asylum seekers. Providing a ray of hope this past year, Afghanistan became the 143rd party, without declarations or reservations, to the 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol. Continue Reading

World-renowned archivist Trudy Huskamp Peterson is on a campaign for the preservation of and access to records of the temporary international criminal courts. She spoke in Washington, D.C. on 31 March 2006 at the American Society of International Law, during its centennial meeting, and again on 15 June 2006 at a private lunch. She addressed the legal, political, and archival issues influencing the retention of historical documents generated by temporary commissions and courts, which, by mandate, were designed to go out of existence. Because the mandates are generally silent on the retention and preservation of records, the United Nations and individual governments lack clarity on who gets to retain long-term official custody of data archives. Should the United Nations establish and maintain a global institutional repository for archives of temporary commissions and courts? Alternately, should domestic archival, property, or intellectual property laws govern? Who gets to decide what, when, where, and how to store records, and under what authority? Continue Reading

The American Society of International Law held its centennial annual meeting from 29 March to 1 April 2006 in Washington, D.C. The meeting attracted the largest attendance ever and featured top justices, lawyers, and politicians. The theme of 100 years promoted a nostalgic atmosphere. In the plenary address, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Kennedy focused on the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, a treaty ratified by the United States in the same year in which Kennedy began his lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court. In a moderated discussion with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, ICJ Judge Rosalyn Higgins, and ASIL President-Elect Jose Alvarez, the panelists contrasted past world wars with today's war. Most notably, for the eighth time in its 100-year history, ASIL adopted a resolution at its annual meeting. Continue Reading

After seven months of practice, research, and intense regional and national competitions involving over 2,000 students at 565 law schools worldwide, the final 104 Jessup teams from 81 countries converged in Washington, D.C. for the Jessup International Tournament. The Jessup competition simulates a case before the International Court of Justice in The Hague, the Netherlands. The 2006 Jessup Compromis dealt with theories of state succession, the jurisdiction of the ICJ, forced labor as a violation of international law, foreign sovereign immunity, indigenous peoples' rights to natural resources, public-private ventures, and the construction of a pipeline. The United States team from Columbia Law School won the Jessup World Champion Trophy. Columbia represented the State of Rubria (Respondent) in the Championship Round. The judges said Columbia Law School won the competition on the strength of its oral argument, beating the team from Universidad Catolica Andrés Bello in Venezuela, which represented the Republic of Acastus (Applicant). Continue Reading

Three professionals in international human rights spoke this evening on the legal disconnect between refugees and other forced migrants as part of International Law Week at Georgetown University Law Center. The panelists specifically addressed internally displaced persons, the indistinct line between economic migrants and forced migrants, and the immigration challenges faced by victims of human trafficking. Where do you draw the line for asylum eligibility in the post-9/11 era? Continue Reading

The Chilean Supreme Court justice who will decide whether to extradite former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori said he will interview Fujimori once or twice more before rendering his decision. Fujimori faces extradition to Peru to stand trial on twelve criminal counts: ten charges of political corruption and two charges of human rights abuses. If extradited, Fujimori would face trial before the Permanent Criminal Chamber of the Peruvian Supreme Court only for those extraditable crimes approved by the Chilean government.

To contest his extradition, Fujimori must contend with the 1932 extradition treaty, domestic Chilean law, a political shift within Chile, and international treaties. The political exception of the 1932 extradition treaty and the higher burden of proof to indict under Chilean law work in Fujimori's favor. Working against Fujimori is a recent political shift in Chile focusing attention on corruption and human rights abuses. Chilean President-elect Michelle Bachelet, who will be sworn in 11 March 2006, ran on a platform against public corruption and state-sponsored human rights abuses. International treaties against corruption and human rights abuses stand the strongest chance of requiring Chile to extradite Fujimori. In the past, Chile has been reluctant to extradite fugitives to Peru. New treaties, especially the UN Convention against Corruption, focus on holding public officials accountable for corruption and mandate greater cooperation among countries. That treaty could serve as the primary legal force to extradite Fujimori to stand trial in his native country. Continue Reading

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency closed 2005 by celebrating a $16.5 million settlement with chemical giant DuPont as a victory for public health. DuPont agreed to pay the record administrative penalty for keeping secret its knowledge that a chemical used to make Teflon® had seeped into the water supply of communities in Ohio and West Virginia, and into the blood streams of pregnant employees and their unborn children. In paying the fine, DuPont admitted no wrongdoing. Conversely, DuPont continues to dispute the EPA's position that it needed to report the widespread contamination of perfluorooctanoic acid, known as PFOA. Even though DuPont executives were concerned about the discovery of PFOA in the people and groundwater around its facility, DuPont's says the chemical contamination never reached the EPA's threshold reporting criteria of creating a "substantial risk" to public health or the environment. DuPont's non-admission of guilt should be a major concern to the EPA regulators. Rather than popping corks over winning the large fine, the EPA regulators should be sharpening pencils. If DuPont can interpret the EPA's regulations differently than what the EPA intends, and thus likely will keep silent over similar future environmental contaminations, it is the EPA's duty to begin 2006 by clarifying what its regulations mean for a chemical to pose a "substantial risk" to public health. Continue Reading

Blog postings related to the United States are categorized under North America: United States.