UN Security Council – 1st Referral to ICC

In an update to the earlier post on the Sudan, the UN Security Council voted 11-0 to refer the war crimes of Darfur in western Sudan to the International Criminal Court (ICC) located in The Hague in the Netherlands. The 15-member council adopted Resolution 1593 just before midnight on 31 March 2005, more than two […]

Iraq – Another Opportunity?

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 […]

New Barriers for Native American Indian Youth

While other high school teens in the U.S. encounter Fourth Amendment lessons on what constitutes “unreasonable searches and seizures” of lockers and “invasions of privacy” from random drug tests, the 320 high school students at Chemawa Indian School in Salem, Oregon discovered an unexpected and unwelcome invasion on campus, a barbed-wire fence, courtesy of the […]

150th Anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court Case Dredd Scott

One hundred fifty years ago today, on March 6, 1857, the U.S. Supreme Court held in the Dredd Scott decision that slaves “imported into this country” were not U.S. citizens and thus could not claim the rights and privileges of citizenship, including access to justice through the courts. The decision denied Scott, as well all […]

DR Congo – Constitutional Referendum

More than forty years have elapsed since the Democratic Republic of Congo’s last democratic poll, which was held in 1960 upon gaining independence from Belgium, and the country’s constitutional referendum of 18-19 December 2005, in which 84% of the voters endorsed a new 229-article constitution (in French). The referendum represents a major turning point for […]

UN to Send Political Mission to Nepal

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 […]

UN Peace Operation Needed in Nepal

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 […]

Maoist Shining Path Leader Abimael GuzmÃ¡n Sentenced Again to Life

Fourteen years after a secret military tribunal sentenced Maoist Shining Path leader Abimael GuzmÃ¡n to life imprisonment in October 1992, a Peruvian civil court on Friday handed down the same life sentence. GuzmÃ¡n’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 […]

“State of Fear: The Truth About Terrorism” Film Screening

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 […]

International Laws Aid Fujimori’s Extradition

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, […]