World’s First Public Health Treaty

The world’s first public health treaty becomes international law today in 40 countries and will take effect in an additional 17 countries in the near future. The World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC, resolution WHA56.1), aims to reduce tobacco consumption worldwide, thereby decreasing the health and economic impacts of tobacco products.

Women’s Political Rights in Kuwait

On 16 May 2005, Kuwait’s democratic parliament approved a bill granting women the right to vote and run for public office. Within the past two weeks, the Kuwaiti government has demonstrated commitment to the democratic ideals embodied in this reform by appointing two women to Kuwait’s 16-member Municipal Council and one woman as the first […]

Status: Move to Washington DC

Status update: My move to Washington, D.C. and Georgetown University Law Center is complete. I recently updated the list of Events and additional deadlines within Call for Papers. I’m still working through your email questions in chronological order. I should be caught up by mid-week. Thanks for your patience during the past few weeks!

Issue Preview: 57th International Whaling Commission Meets May 30

What was originally intended in 1986 to be a 5-year “pause” in commercial whaling for the purpose of assessing scientific data and improving sustainable whaling management practices is now nearing its 20th anniversary as a de facto ban. In less than two weeks, an expected 600 participants from 61 countries will confer on the fate […]

Burundians Vote “Yes”

More than 90 percent of Burundians said “yes” to the new constitution ! Locally, you would hear “oui” in French and “ego” in Kirundi, the two official languages. Hopefully, many Burundians are also saying “AMAHORO”, the word for peace in this worn-torn country currently stricken by drought, famine, and U.N. scandal. The new constitution will […]

UN Adopts Nuclear Terrorism Treaty

International Convention on the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism On April 13 and after more than seven years of negotiations, the UN General Assembly adopted by consensus the 28-article International Convention on the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism. The Convention obliges nations to extradite or prosecute potential terrorists, to criminalize within domestic laws […]

The White Smoke Not Seen…Nuclear Shutdown

One week after the adoption by UN General Assembly of the International Convention on the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, satellite photos confirm that there is no flume of smoke arising from the cooling tower of the Yongbyon nuclear reactor in North Korea, an indication that the reactor has been shut down. Possible reasons […]

Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty – RevCon

The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference (NPT RevCon) being held at the UN headquarters in New York began without an agenda because member states could not reach agreement on which substantive issues to discuss and the rules of procedure. The treaty members could not even agree on whether to discuss the major events which have […]

Status of the World’s Women

Dressed entirely in black and wearing a black hijab, Nancy Rubin, the former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (1997-2000), began her talk on the status of the world’s women with a rather bleak overview of a global landscape which still marginalizes half the world’s population.

Ways International Law Affects You

Did you send a stamped letter today and realize that the ability to send a secure airmail letter anywhere in the world is made possible by the Constitution of the Universal Postal Union and related protocols, as well as the Convention on International Civil Aviation? Can you think of more examples of ways international law […]