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A wide shot of a UN conference room, where Andrii Melnyk (on screen), Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the U.N., appears, speaking into a microphone on a large screen against a black backdrop with the United Nations logo. Seated conference attendees appear in the foreground.

Hope – and Vigilance – on the Road to a Crimes Against Humanity Treaty

Proponents of a crimes against humanity treaty will need to redouble their efforts to shore up the support necessary to ensure it is strong and effective.
Oct. 9, 2026 and
Pope Leo, wearing a white cassock, is seen in profile, lighting candles in what looks like a black wrought iron stand, before an audience including clergy, against a backdrop of a large blue and white outline drawing of a dove of peace.

A Better Path for Peace and Security? Focus on Dignity.

Efforts to end wars and protect civilians could benefit greatly from a renewed commitment to the near-universal value of dignity.
Oct. 8, 2026 and
Aerial view of dozens of people milling about in an arid landscape of red earth, a lone tree in the background and a range of mountains in the distance at the back right of the image. There are a few makeshift shelters of scrap wood or covered in white tarps, and what looks like rows of more shelters at the back right. Several people are leaning against stacked white bags of wheat flour in the foreground.

How to Better Enforce the Darfur Arms Embargo

Rather than expand the arms embargo on Darfur, the UN Security Council should take steps that would give the existing embargo teeth.
Oct. 7, 2026 and
A man walks through a street covered with rubble and collapsed concrete in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City, Gaza Strip.

Under the Gaza Peace Plan, Who Is Responsible for the Treatment of Protected Persons and What Does That Require?

An analysis of the obligations that the Board of Peace and International Stabilization Force must fulfill with respect to the civilian population of Gaza.
Oct. 2, 2026

Twenty-Five Years After 9/11, It Is Time to Repeal the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force and End the Forever War

Successive administrations have stretched the AUMF beyond any reasonable interpretation to wage worldwide war, without foreseeable end.
Sep. 30, 2026
A Syrian carries the picture of his relative, who was killed during the country's civil war, while celebrating after the court proceedings, in Damascus on August 11, 2026. A Syrian court on August 11 sentenced former ruler Bashar al-Assad to death after a trial in absentia, convicting him of atrocities committed during the country's nearly 14-year civil war.

Supporting Syria’s Domestic Accountability Process

Despite their flaws, Syrian institutions have the potential to become vehicles of accountability with sustained international engagement.
Sep. 22, 2026
People wave Syrian flags as they celebrate a year since the ousting of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian capital Damascus on December 8, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP via Getty Images)

Syria in Transition Series

Experts asses accountability, reconciliation, institutional reform, constitutionalism, and more in transitional Syria.
Sep. 22, 2026
Three blue-helmeted soldiers sit atop a heavy duty white pickup truck with "UN" on the side in the foreground, as three other "blue helmets" as the peacekeepers are called, stand or work on the ground,, with a white UN armored personnel carrier sits in the background under a large tree. The ground underneath it all is dry red earth, marked with vehicle tracks.

Keep the Blue Helmets Ready — They Are Needed More Than Ever

Member states must ensure that UN peacekeeping forces are prepared and equipped to deploy, mediate, protect civilians, and respond to global crises.
Sep. 21, 2026
The Camp Justice sign near the Military Commissions court area on June 27, 2023 at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The War on Terror: A Quarter Century of Unheeded Warnings

The global war on terror demands reflection and reckoning for the damage it caused to human rights and the international legal order.
Sep. 16, 2026
Israeli military vehicles are stationed near houses destroyed by Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, as seen from a position across the border in the Upper Galilee in northern Israel on September 8, 2026.

Don’t Let Lebanon’s Peace Agreement Prove Hezbollah Right

As the first serious agreement between Lebanon and Israel stalls, Washington needs to restore reciprocity to the process.
Sep. 16, 2026
The building of the destroyed Shajareh Tayebeh primary school is pictured surrounded by rubble in Minab in Iran's Hormozgan province on August 10, 2026.

The Limits of the Law of Armed Conflict: Individual Accountability Should Not Obscure State Responsibility for U.S. Strikes on Iran School

The law of armed conflict is not suited to provide the legal clarity the public desires immediately following attacks that kill civilians.
Sep. 15, 2026
A woman almost fully covered in a dark blue robe and head covering faces away from the camera toward an opening in a ragged tent, where a girl peaks out as if she's speaking to the woman. The girl wears a gray headscarf, with a bit of orange clothing showing through the opening in the tent.

A Plea from Forgotten Families in Detention in Northeast Syria: “What Will Happen to Our Children?”

More than 2,400 children and mothers once linked to ISIS are still held in detention in Roj Camp and other facilities in northeastern Syria.
Sep. 14, 2026 and
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