Reminder that the deadline for the Leadership and Advocacy for Women in Africa (LAWA) program at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. is tomorrow, 26 September 2008. The program offers one-year, tuition-paid LL.M. fellowships to outstanding women human rights lawyers from Africa who are committed to returning home to their countries in order to advance the status of women and girls in their own countries throughout their careers. More

The deadline to apply for paid one-year Human Rights Watch Fellowships in Washington, D.C. or London is 3 October 2008. Open to all law graduates worldwide. Learn more. More

I want to thank the Criminal Justice Degrees Guide for recognizing InsideJustice.com as one of the Top 100 law and lawyer blogs. On CriminalJusticeDegreesGuide.com, you can search for legal and paralegal educational programs in the United States. The guide allows you to narrow your search to online or on campus programs, to view the results by U.S. state, and to find U.S. schools offering a specialization in criminal justice. The website also offers helpful articles on careers, jobs, and types of degrees. One article covers "20 Civil Liberties Laws Every American Should Know." More

Søren Jessen-Petersen, the former Head of the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK 2004-2006), spoke in Washington, D.C. this summer on challenges faced by UN missions. Currently, the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) oversees 18 peacekeeping missions, employs more than 110,000 troops, and manages a budget of $7.2 billion, up from $2.7 billion in 2001, just for peacekeeping. In addition, the budget for political and peacebuilding missions has increased to more than $253 million annually, up from $37.1 million in 2002, according to a report by the Secretary-General. With these dramatic increases, stakeholders seek reassurances that these investments in peace and global security are cost-effective and produce results. Jessen-Petersen identified four gaps in UN missions that are limiting their effectiveness: (1) mandate gaps, (2) humanitarian action versus reconstruction goals, (3) allocation of resources and capacity building, and (4) implementation gaps in restoring human rights and the rule of law. Notably, he did not address the gender gap in peacekeeping as recognized in Security Council Resolution 1325, constraints to intervention under the UN Charter, or the UN's ability to discipline international troops. More

In his opening remarks before the 63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, incoming President Miguel D’Escoto Brockmann of Nicaragua called for democratization of the United Nations, reform of the 15-member Security Council, and adoption of an ambitious 160-item agenda. All but eleven of the items have been discussed previously. High on his list of priorities are climate change, access to water, terrorism, human rights, human trafficking, and nuclear control and disarmament. His proposed legal reforms include changing the Security Council voting requirements under Article 27 of the UN Charter and making General Assembly resolutions binding under international law. The eleven agenda items not previously discussed include the following: More

In two significant developments since the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples on September 13, 2007, two of the four states opposed to its adoption have taken significant political action in recognition of indigenous communities and in support of the Declaration. In Australia, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd issued an apology in February 2008 for the nation's historic injustices to Aborigines and announced his country's likely endorsement of the Declaration before the General Assembly. In Canada, Prime Minister Stephen Harper in June 2008 issued an apology to the country's native population for racial discrimination and mistreatment. Two months earlier, the Canadian House of Commons passed a resolution on April 8, 2008 in support of the Declaration. This discussion examines the role of apologies in addressing past injustices and how they impact financial, political, and legal concessions to previously or currently disempowered indigenous communities. More